OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms Chautauqua Lake’s Kyleigh Perdue (22) dishes a pass in the Lady Thunderbirds 47-36 win over the Silver Creek Lady Black Knights in the Class C2 Semi Final on Wednesday, March 4.

JAMESTOWN — Things are coming full circle for Chautauqua Lake. The last time the Chautauqua Lake Lady Thunderbirds advanced to the Far West Regionals in 2015, several of the 2019-20 team’s players were team managers for former head coach Eric Schuster, and now, under head coach Bill Persons, those same girls have a chance to get there as players.

“When we went to states all of those kids were Coach Schuster managers,” Coach Persons said about his upperclassmen. “It puts a smile on my face, when you see them as elementary students you just wish the best for them. I wanted to put them in a position to be successful. It’s been a pleasure for me to see them come full circle.”

The Section VI representative in the Far West Regionals will be decided tonight at 6 p.m., when Class C1 Champion Chautauqua Lake plays Class C2 Champion Holland in the Class C1/C2 crossover game at Jamestown Community College.

The road to the Far West Regionals will not be an easy task. Tonight, when Chautauqua Lake takes on Class C2 Champion Holland (21-2) at Jamestown Community College, they will need to bring everything they’ve got. Holland’s record speaks for itself, the Lady Dutchmen have lost just two games all year — the first loss was a 64-50 game in Eden and the second was to City Honors on the road, 76-65.

“Ultimately, they’ve got good players and their record speaks for itself,” Coach Persons said about Holland. “They’ve got a nice balance of players. Good perimeter… guards can shoot, Claire Pikett down inside is a physical presence.”

The Lady Dutchmen are led offensively by senior guard Myla Kline who averages 23.3 points per game, but the real big name on the stat sheet all year has been the sophomore Pikett. Pikett averages slightly less in scoring at 19.3 points per game, but she has been a force down low standing over 6-feet tall, Pikett has grabbed 341 rebounds and amassed 101 blocks all this year.

Holland’s berth into the crossover game was quite different from Chautauqua Lake’s, as the Lady Dutchmen narrowly escaped the Franklinville Lady Panthers, 60-59, thanks to a missed buzzer-beater attempt by Dani Haskell. Chautauqua Lake’s trip to this point was thanks to a dominant 67-49 victory over Falconer.

While many might look at Holland’s statistical leaders in Pikett and Kline, any team should fear the deep Lady T’Birds roster. Chautauqua Lake’s offense has been led by Lily Woodis with 15.9 points per game all season, but she has been exceeding that when it has mattered most, the playoffs. In the semifinal game against Silver Creek, Woodis scored 16 points and she was just getting started, because in the championship game against Falconer Woodis had 26 points.

“She’s just a phenomenal basketball player,” Coach Persons said about Woodis. “She’s not just a great player, but overall a great person, as well. She is humble in her play, not very boastful, she’s just a great teammate. I really look forward to seeing what she can do.”

Along with Woodis, Rebecca Henry has averaged 11 points per game, Kyleigh Perdue is nine and Alexis Jacobson averages seven. While none of the Lady T’Birds average 20, they spread the ball around well as a team.

If Chautauqua Lake wants to advance past Holland to the Far West Regionals, they will need to make sure from top to bottom their team plays its best basketball. While both teams have not played each other, similar opponents have been Silver Creek and Franklinville. Holland did defeat Silver Creek by a greater margin at 18 points compared to Chautauqua Lake’s 11 point victory, however, the Lady T’Birds defeated Franklinville by 25 points and Holland escaped a missed buzzer beater.

“They are obviously in good spirits,” Coach Persons said about his team heading into tonight’s crossover game against Holland. “To get back to the crossover game is really a big thing for us. This is exactly where we wanted to be this time of year. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they can do [Tuesday night].”