Commentary
East Aurora girls basketball team's hard work pays off
JASON NADOLINSKI Sports Reporter
It certainly has been quite a weekend as far as the world of basketball is concerned, both across the country and here in our own back yard.

College basketball's annual showcase, the men's championship tournament, kicked off last Thursday with four straight days of non-stop action. HSBC Arena was home to the "March Madness" for two of the days and had arguably some of the best games in the opening two rounds.

The Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, meanwhile, scored 65 points in last Friday's 116-111 overtime win over the Portland Trailblazers, the second most of his pro career and the fourth most of any Laker.

And last but certainly no where near least - more like head of the class if you ask me - the East Aurora Lady Blue Devils completed their season-long goal of attaining a state championship by winning back-to-back games in overtime at Hudson Valley Community College this past Friday and Saturday.

Right from the opening days in November, coach Chris Koselny focused on the fact that there is no "I" in team. No one player was above the squad, and that team-first attitude carried the Lady Blue Devils through to their first-ever championship in the sport.

With all but two players returning from last year's team, which was the first in school history to reach the Far West Regional (state quarterfinal), the talent was in place - and one year more experienced - for East Aurora to make another deep run into the postseason. More importantly, the hunger to avenge last season's ouster in the Regional proved to be a deciding factor once the Lady Blue Devils made good on their goal to play down state. "That loss last year really hurt and the girls didn't want that to happen again," Koselny said in last week's paper.

So East Aurora did everything in its power to make sure its season didn't end in hurt two years in a row, which meant the Lady Blue Devils relied on each other to get through some tough times at HVCC. East Aurora held off a pair of state tournament veterans in overtime to win first the semifinals, then the Class B championship behind clutch shooting, gutsy performances at the free throw line, and just an overall willingness to make whatever sacrifice was necessary to get the team to its goal. There was no time and no place for individual heroics in East Aurora's run.

It also helped that Koselny put in place one of the most ambitious and tough non-league schedules for his players. Finding the Lady Blue Devils taking on teams from much bigger schools, teams with storied basketball history, or teams with NCAA Division I prospects wasn't that uncommon once they stepped away from the familiar surroundings of ECIC Division IV. Playing state-ranked schools such as Rochester's School of Art and Greece Athena (twice) helped prepare East Aurora for the challenges waiting for them once they reached the state tournament.

Koselny knew that he would have to test his team if he wanted it to earn the state championship, and he knew that he'd have to leave the area to really do that. It sure looks to me like that was a successful strategy.

The big thing is, the players all played for each other, not for themselves. There was only one stat that mattered to the members of the 2006-07 Lady Blue Devils, and it didn't involve points, rebounds or any other individual accolades. It was a state championship, something that takes teamwork to achieve.