OBSERVER Staff Reports

NEWFANE — The Fredonia Lady ‘Billies always seem to play their best basketball when the playoffs come around. Thursday was no exception, as Fredonia pulled off its second upset in three days to reach the Section VI, Class B1 girls basketball semifinals, with a win over Newfane, 48-36, at Newfane High School on Thursday night.

Fredonia (8-12) came into the playoffs as the 14-seed, the lowest seed in Class B1 — but that didn’t seem to matter much to first year head coach Mark Putney.

“These girls always believed and I’m really proud of them,” said Putney. “They never doubted themselves.”

Fredonia led after every quarter on Thursday. The Lady ‘Billies had a 14-7 lead after the first, a 25-15 lead at halftime, a 33-23 lead after the third quarter, and finished it off in the final frame with 15 points.

Nagely Vazquez led Fredonia with 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Anna Buchanan added 11 points and nine rebounds. Grace Mroczka had eight rebounds and four assists, Kelly Gullo had five points and five assists, while Kazlin Beers had five points, three assists and eight steals.

“It was a total team effort,” said Putney.

The Lady ‘Billies advance to the sectional semifinals once again, at Kenmore West next Thursday. Fredonia beat Newfane at Kenmore West in the semifinals last season. The Lady ‘Billies will play 2-seed East Aurora this time around, at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“We’re excited to be in the semifinals and to have a chance to play against one of the top programs in Western New York,” said Putney.

Olean 84, Dunkirk 54

OLEAN — The Dunkirk Lady Marauders couldn’t stop Sara Pfieffer on Thursday night, as the Olean senior scored 50 points to eliminate Dunkirk from the Class B1 girls basketball sectional playoffs, 84-54, at Olean High School.

Dunkirk (11-11, 12-seed) was unable to carry the momentum of Tuesday’s upset of 5-seed Buffalo Arts into Thursday’s game, as the Lady Marauders trailed after each period of play. Olean (19-2, 4-seed) led 22-16 after the first quarter, 47-29 at halftime, 65-51 after three, and outscored the Lady Marauders 19-3 in the fourth quarter. Pfieffer had 28 points in the first half and 22 in the second half.

Olean now moves on to the sectional semifinals at Kenmore West High School on Thursday, in the second of the two games that day, against top-ranked City Honors. Fredonia will play in the first semifinal of the day against East Aurora.

Cassadaga Valley 54, Ellicottville 44

ELLICOTTVILLE — The Cassadaga Valley Lady Cougars already clinched their first winning season in nearly a decade this year, but they added to it with their first playoff victory in the same time frame on Thursday. Cassadaga Valley, the 6-seed in Class C2, defeated 3-seed Ellicottville, 54-44, on Thursday night in a Section VI, Class C2 girls basketball quarterfinal game at Ellicottville High School.

“We came out and we played well,” said Cassadaga Valley head coach Todd Fryberger. “We got out to an early lead and we never trailed.”

Cassadaga Valley (14-7, 6-seed) led 14-13 after the first quarter, then extended the lead to 27-19 at halftime. At the break, Fryberger said their “point of emphasis” was to come out strong in the third quarter, and they certainly did that. Cassadaga Valley outscored Ellicottville 17-8 in the third frame.

Brooke Repine led the way with 21 points for Cassadaga Valley. Fryberger said, “a senior playing in a playoff game, I’m really proud of her. She had a great game.”

Kaylee Pattyson added 12 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals for Cassadaga Valley. Isabella Ruiz had 12 points and four steals for the Lady Cougars, while Meghan LeBaron had 10 rebounds and five assists.

“I’m really proud of these girls,” said Fryberger. “They’ve been grinding all season long and haven’t ever let up.”

Cassadaga Valley now moves ahead in the bracket to play Frewsburg next Thursday at Jamestown Community College.

Lake Shore 69, Starpoint 57

ANGOLA — Lani and Shawni Cornfield combined for 55 of Lake Shore’s 69 points as the Lady Eagles rolled to their Class A2 girls basketball sectional quarterfinal win over Starpoint on Thursday, 69-57, at Lake Shore High School.

Lani Cornfield made five 3-pointers and scored 30 points, while tallying 10 steals on the defensive end. Shawni Cornfield scored 25 points and added nine rebounds and nine steals to lead the Lady Eagles to victory.

“They both played great games,” said Lake Shore head coach Danielle Arnone about the Cornfield sisters. “Obviously they are a big part of what we do and their ability to get the ball up and down the floor makes us a better team.”

Lake Shore (18-2, 1-seed) will move on to face Iroquois in the semifinals on Tuesday at Kenmore West at 7 p.m. Lake Shore has beaten Iroquois two times earlier this season, with the first of those two contests going into overtime.

“They’re a good team,” said Arnone of Iroquois. “We’ll have to play our best in order to beat them.”