TROY ― Ella Trinkaus matched her season-high with 39 points Saturday morning and led Utica’s Notre Dame Jugglers back into a state girls basketball championship game with a 62-44 Class A semifinal victory over Rochester’s Our Lady of Mercy Monarchs at Hudson Valley Community College.
The undefeated Jugglers (25-0), winners of a Class B title two years ago, play again Sunday at 10 a.m. but won’t get their potential rematch after Section II Albany Academy, the 2024 Class B runner-up, was beaten 60-52 by Section I Tappan Zee in Saturday’s second semifinal. The Jugglers and Tappan Zee’s Flying Dutchmen will tip off at 10 a.m. in the first of two Sunday games on the final day of NYSPHSAA championship play.
Trinkaus, Section III champion Notre Dame’s newly-established career scoring leader, scored 15 of 17 Notre Dame points in the first quarter and had eight in a 10-2 run to start the game in the first two minutes of play. She was the only player on either squad to score in double figures, and she added 16 rebounds for a double-double.
Playing from behind from the start, Section V Mercy (16-10) caught up before halftime and took an ever so-brief 22-21 lead in the final minute of the second quarter. Elinor Meyer’s three-point basket gave the Monarchs their one-point lead with 47.4 seconds remaining in the half, but Trinkaus scored on the next Notre Dame possession then added two foul shots for a 25-22 lead at the intermission.
Notre Dame started the second half with a 10-1 run and led by six points entering the fourth quarter. Angelina Borrelli started the fourth quarter with a three-pointer for Mercy, cutting the lead by half, but that would be the final field goal for the Monarchs.
Notre Dame led 48-43 when Mercy’s Robin Jones fouled out, and the Jugglers outscored the Monarchs 14-1 over the game’s final 4 1/2 minutes.
Erin Trinkaus had five points, seven rebounds and six steals for the Jugglers, Jules scored seven points, and Tessa Arcuri scored five.
Jones and Laura Kosten each scored nine points to lead Mercy.
Utica-Notre Dame vs. Rochester-Our Lady of Mercy Class A state semifinal live updates
Championship matchup set
Tappan Zee defeats Albany Academy 60-52 and the championship game matchup is set: Section I Tappan Zee (22-4) vs. Section III Utica-Notre Dame (25-0) at Hudson Valley Community College, Sunday, March 22, 10 a.m.
Tappan Zee leads after three
The Tappan Zee lead is 41-33 at the end of the third quarter.
Tappan Zee extends lead
Albany Academy scored first to start the second half to tie the score at 25, but Tappan Zee is now on a 13-4 run and leading 38-29, prompting an Academy timeout with 3:11 remaining in third quarter.
Quickie Notre Dame boxscore
Utica-Notre Dame 62, Rochester-Our Lady of Mercy 44
NYSPHSAA Class A semifinal at Hudson Valley Community College, Troy
Section V MERCY (16-10): Robin Jones 9 points, 7 rebounds; Laura Kosten 9 points; Angelina Borrelli 6 points; Emerson Wandtke 6 points; Bridget Wise 3 points, 7 rebounds.
Section III NOTRE DAME (25-0): Ella Trinkaus 39 points, 16 rebounds, 3 steals; Jules Otis 7 points; Tessa Arcuri 5 points; Erin Trinkaus 5 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals; Emma Johnson 2 points, 4 steals.
Mercy 11 11 16 6 — 44
Notre Dame 17 8 19 18 — 62
Three-pointers: Mercy 5 (Borrelli 2, Barone 1, Kosten 1, Meter 1); Notre Dame 3 (El.Trinkaus 2, Arcuri 1).
Tappan Zee leads second semi at halftime
Section I Tappan Zee led from the start and holds a 25-23 halftime advantage over Section II Albany Academy in the second Class A semifinal. Tappan Zee started the game with a 10-2 spurt and led 14-8 after the first quarter.
Notre Dame wins 62-44
Notre Dame wins 62-44 and finishes game with a 12-1 run. The Jugglers play again Sunday at 10 a.m. against the winner of the next game between Albany Academy and Tappan Zee.
(NOTE: Make that a 14-1 run to end the game.)
Jugglers closing in on win
Mercy calls timeout with 1:33 remaining in game with Notre Dame leading 56-43 on 8-0 run.
Mercy has not scored since Robin Jones fouled out with 4:24 left in the game.
Notre Dame leads by six after three
Notre Dame started the second half with a 10-1 run and opened its largest lead at 35-23. The Jugglers maintained the lead through the third quarter and lead 44-38 entering the fourth.
Mercy’s Robin Jones was fouled and helped off the court with 1:44 remaining in the period. (She returned to start the fourth quarter.)
Notre Dame leads 25-22 at halftime
Mercy held Notre Dame to a single field goal through the first seven minutes of the first quarter and took its first and only lead at 22-21 on Elinor Meyer’s three-pointer with 47.4 seconds remaining before halftime. Notre Dame regained the lead at the other end and added two Ella Trinkaus free throws to take a three-point lead at the intermission.
Twenty-one points for Ella Trinkaus; two each for Erin Trinkaus and Lily Johnson for the Jugglers.
Robin Jones leads Mercy with six points.
Notre Dame jumps ahead in opening period
Ella Trinkaus scored 15 points in the first quarter and has Notre Dame’s Jugglers leading 17-11 after eight minutes. The lead was 10-4 two minutes in with Trinkaus scoring eight of the points, and the Jugglers stretched their lead to 10 points in less than five minutes.
Five combined fouls called in first quarter – no player had more than one – and Lily Johnson was back in the Notre Dame lineup to start after sitting out most of last weekend’s regional playoff victory with an injury suffered in the opening minute.
How they got here
Notre Dame is undefeated this season and has won 33 of its last 34 games, losing only to Franklin Academy of Malone in last year’s Class A regional. The Jugglers are 67-7 over the last three seasons, and they avenged the Franklin Academy loss with a 79-21 victory in last week’s regional playoff rematch with the Section X champions.
Our Lady of Mercy defeated Section VI Lake Shore 54-46 in a regional semifinal, then defeated Honeoye Falls-Lima, an at-large bid from Section V, 41-40 in a rematch of the Section V title game one week earlier, giving the Monarchs two wins in three meetings with Honeoye Falls-Lima’s Cougars. Our Lady of Mercy had been ranked 20th in the state entering the sectional final.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Notre Dame wins, advances to play for state basketball title Sunday
Reporting by Jon Rathbun, Herkimer Times Telegram / Times Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
