North needs OT to beat Frontier
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Williamsville North's girls basketball team avenged a 60-44 home loss earlier in the season against Frontier with a 48-45 overtime win last Friday over the Lady Falcons.

The road victory didn't come easy. The Lady Spartans trailed, 23-18 at halftime but used good team defense to hold Frontier to six points in the third quarter to tie the score at 29-29.

North trailed, 40-32, in the fourth quarter but tied it at 42-42 with 12 seconds remaining on a three-pointer from 28-feet away by freshman point guard Corrin Genovese. Corrin's older sister, junior Maddi Genovese, and freshman Allie Ahern, also hit threes in the fourth to rally the Lady Spartans. Allie Ahern finished with five points in the fourth.

North held the lead throughout overtime. Senior Leslie Ahern scored a bucket to get North's offense going. Maddie Genovese scored with a second left. Allie Ahern also tallied.

Corrin Genovese led North with 20 points. She did not play in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 6.

"She makes a world of difference," said North coach Mike Del Valle. "She has unbelievable composure and fabulous hands. Any ball that touches her hands stays there. You can't dribble the ball too close her because she will go the other way with it."

Allie Ahern (eight), Maddie Genovese and Leslie Ahern (seven each), Katie Kubala (four) and Emily Helwig (two) also chipped in points for the Lady Spartans, which improved to 6-8 overall and 3-5 in ECIC Division I.

Caitlin Johnson led Frontier with 16 points. Jordan Eckman added 10.

North opened last Monday with a 53-36 home loss to Orchard Park. The Lady Spartans went up 14-8 after the first quarter but were down, 24-22, at halftime and, 33-28, after the third quarter.

North was outscored 20-8 in the fourth quarter. Del Valle said OP broke his team's pressure defense in the fourth which forced his team to foul. OP made 9 of 12 free throws in the final quarter. They were 11 of 15 overall.

Corrin Genovese paced North with 12 points, seven steals, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks. Allie Ahern and Leslie Ahern (six points each), Helwig (four points), Maddie Genovese and Nikki Attea (three points each) and Kubala (two points) also scored for North.

Jamie Druding and Jill Fairchild each had 14 points to lead the Lady Quakers. Taylor Swiatek chipped in 13. Druding, Swiatek, and Fairchild scored 16 of OP's 20 points in the fourth.

North doesn't return to action until Tuesday, Jan. 29 when they host West Seneca West for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. A game at Holy Angels was scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday but Del Valle said Angels' newly renovated gym is not ready. No makeup date has been announced.