Horseheads and Elmira are each chasing a third consecutive Section 4 girls basketball championship.
A look at those two teams and others from the Elmira-Corning region as sectional play gets set to begin, culminating with championship games over three days from March 6-8.
Elmira
Matchup: The top-seeded Express will play second-seeded Corning in the Class AAA final at 6 p.m. Friday, March 6 at Watkins Glen High School.
Record: 9-10.
Key players: The Express is led by the inside combo of 5-foot-10 junior Mariah Matias and 6-foot sophomore Meya Smith. Matias was a fourth-team Class AAA all-state pick last year after earning 10th-team honors as a freshman.
Sectional titles: Elmira has six championships since the advent of the program in 2011 following sports mergers of Elmira Free Academy and Southside. EFA previously won two titles and Southside one.
Last season: Beat Corning, 46-35, in the Section 4 Class AAA championship game. Express fell to eventual state champion Albertus Magnus, 76-37, in a New York State Public High School Athletic Association subregional to finish with a 14-6 record.
Notable: Matias had 20 points and 17 rebounds in last year’s sectional final after scoring 14 in the 2024 championship game.
Corning
Matchup: Second-seeded Corning will play top-seeded Elmira in the Class AAA championship game at 6 p.m. Friday, March 6 at Watkins Glen High School..
Record: 7-10.
Key players: Charlise Starns, a 6-foot-5 junior, was an 11th-team Class AAA all-state pick last season. Deanna Shaddock is another top scorer.
Sectional titles: Hawks have one sectional title (2022) since the merger of Corning East and Corning West teams in 2010. Corning West won three sectional titles and was Class B state champion in 1995. Corning East won the 1993 Class B sectional championship.
Last season: Hawks fell to Elmira, 46-35, in the Section 4 Class AAA final.
Notable: Corning swept Elmira during the regular season, 63-56 and 59-50.
Horseheads
Matchup: Top-seeded Horseheads will play either second-seeded Vestal or third-seeded Union-Endicott in the championship game at 5 p.m. Sunday, March 8 at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton.
Record: 16-3.
Key players: Freshman point guard Samantha Bonnell was honorable mention all-state last season. Maddie Ribble, Maggie Tremaine and Giana Hughey are among others on the team who have had double-digit scoring games.
Sectional titles: 14.
Last season: Horseheads beat Binghamton, 54-51, in overtime in the Section 4 Class AA championship game. The Blue Raiders finished with a 16-6 record after losing to Warwick, 40-31, in a NYSPHSAA regional game.
Notable: Horseheads has won 11 of its 14 sectional titles under current head coach Andy Scott.
Watkins Glen
Matchup: After beating Lansing, 54-25, for back-to-back IAC Large School titles, the third-seeded Lake Hawks will host Lansing at 6 p.m. Feb. 27 in a Class B quarterfinal.
Record: 18-2.
Key players: Defensive-minded Lake Hawks have had several players lead the way offensively, including 1,000-point career scorer Rachel Vickio, Olivia King, Natalee Oliver, Michaela Wheaton and Emma Cady.
Sectional titles: 5, including Class C state title in 2017.
Last season: Lake Hawks fell to Sidney, 50-45, in a Section 4 Class B quarterfinal and finished with a 17-3 record.
Notable: Watkins Glen head coach Alicia Learn has been a part of all five of the program’s sectional titles, including as a player in 2000. She coached the Lake Hawks to championships in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
Elmira Notre Dame
Matchup: The sixth-seeded Crusaders host 11th-seeded Marathon at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 in a Class C first-round game.
Record: 10-8.
Key players: Senior guard Kalysta DeMark is the Crusaders’ leading scorer. Payton Sutryk is a double-double threat each game.
Sectional titles: 5, including Class C state titles in 2006 and 2007.
Last season: Lost to Marathon, 53-42, in a Section 4 Class C first-round game.
Notable: Marathon topped Notre Dame, 43-40, to close the regular season.
Odessa-Montour
Matchup: The 13th-seeded Grizzlies play at fourth-seeded Moravia in a Class C opening-round game at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24.
Record: 9-11.
Key players: Leah Antes, a 1,000-point scorer as a sophomore, has been among the top players in Section 4 this season and averages in double digits in rebounds.
Sectional titles: 4, including Class D state championship in 2001.
Last season: Lost to Unatego, 54-30, in a Section 4 Class C first-round game.
Notable: Odessa-Montour and Moravia are both members of the Interscholastic Athletic Conference that have won state titles. Moravia was Class C titlist in 2024.
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira-Corning region girls basketball playoff teams at a glance
Reporting by Andrew Legare, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
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