Notre Dame

Without walking seven batters, maybe Notre Dame beats Lyndonville 3-0, Head Coach Mike Rapone said after the Fighting Irish lost to the Tigers 7-3 in a Section V Class D semifinal game at Dwyer Stadium.

Starter Tyler Stroud, normally in command of his pitches, struggled to get the ball over the plate and squandered an early lead. With only a couple of hits, the Irish saw their 3-0 lead slip to 3-2 and then disappear to a 4-3 deficit.

Two of those runs scored on a wild pitch and a passed ball after walks helped Lyndonville base runners advance to third.

"Walks, passed ball, ground out, and little by little we let them back into the game and we never got the momentum back," Rapone said.

Rapone praised the effort of Lyndonville but repeated, it was the walks that did in his team.

"Their pitcher threw a nice game," Rapone said. "He kept us off balance. We didn't hit the ball that well. I think if we didn't walk seven guys, the three runs might have been enough."

The Batavia Blue Devils beat Livonia today to advance to the Section V Class BB championship game in Geneva at 6 p.m., Friday against Pal-Mac. In the Class C final, Pavilion was eliminated by Bolivar-Richburg.

Top photo: Tommy Prospero scores in the first on a steal of home. The Tigers' catcher dropped the ball.

To purchase prints of photos from this game, click here.

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Notre Dame's golf team won a Section V title in a tournament at the Livingston Country Club in Geneseo.

From left: John Lapple -- 81, Drew Morabito -- 85, Coach Bill Sutherland, Noah Hoy -- 83, Ben Warner -- 87, and Jared Thornton -- 92. This is the second year in a row that they have won the Section 5 Class C Championship with the same five players.

Photo and information submitted by David Warner.

Notre Dame's track team picked up eight titles in yesterday's Section V meet at Wheatland-Chili.

Front Row -- The girls 4x800 championship team: Abby Bleier, Shelby McGinnis, Anna Warner and Emily McCracken and discus champ Meghan Duell.

Back Row -- The boys 4x800 team Brad Misiak, Arron Carlson (also won the 400m hurdles), Jeffrey Antolos (also a 3x individual winner -- 3000m steeplechase, 1600m and 3200m) and shotput champ Rui Han.

For full meet results, click here.

Photo and info submitted by Bare Antolos.

Two home-field pitchers, two dominant performances, a pair of very similar results for Batavia and Notre Dame in Section V playoff games at Dwyer Stadium on Friday.

Behind the 15-K, two-hit performance of Zach Hale, the Blue Devils shutdown Newark 1-0.

In the night cap, Alec Covel was just as masterful for the Fighting Irish. In the process of striking out 10, Covel gave up only one hit, and that wasn't until the top of the 6th inning, leading Notre Dame to a 2-0 victory over Alfred-Almond.

Batavia Head Coach Rick Saunders said Hale pitched the game of the year.

"What a performance," Saunders said. "The whole game is Hale. He got the base hit, and then I pinch run for him, and he's the winning run."

Mike Rapone, head coach of Notre Dame, was just as impressed with the performance of Covel, who started only three games this season prior to Friday because of an injury. Both Rapone and Covel said he came into the game, fresh, strong and eager to pitch.

"He threw only 78 pitches," Rapone said. "He was pounding the strike zone. His curve ball was sharp. He's a great player. He really is."

Both Newark and Alfred are lower seed games, but in sectionals top-ranked teams are going find themselves going against the best pitcher of their opponents.

"Their kid pitch great, too," Rapone said. "That's the thing with sectionals. They've got a .500 record, but they probably won every game that he pitched and maybe they lost all the ones he didn't, so you never know what you're going to run into when you get into sectional tournament. I mean, for a nine seed, heck, that kid threw the ball well."

Saunders was equally impressed with Newark's starter.

"i don't know anything about their pitcher, but I'll tell you, he is quality," Saunders said. "He threw a real nice fastball and a sweet curve ball."

Batavia was limited to four hits, but still managed to get a couple of runners to third. It made Saunders a little nervous when his offense couldn't close the deal.

"We had our chances," Saunders said. "Those games bother me more than anything, when we see guys on third base many times, one out, and you don't score, you go 'oh-oh, something bad can happen.' Nothing bad happened because Hale was in control of the game."

Being out on the mound in a big 1-0 game is exactly where he wanted to be, Hale said.

"I usually throw better later, but especially after we got that run," Hale said. "It really gave me a boost. I'm like, hey, better close it out.

"The rush is crazy," he added. "When you're out there every batter means something. It's not like it's a 10-0 game."

Covel said he just likes to be in that commanding situation, taking control of the game.

"All of my pitches working and with the strong defense behind me, it just gives me all the confidence in the world," Covel said.

Slide show from Batavia game. To order prints, click here.

Slide show for Notre Dame game below. Click here to purchase prints.

The Notre Dame girls softball team closed out the season Friday with a come-from-behind victory over Lyndonville in game played at GCC.

As the defending state champions, the Fighting Irish finish out the season with a 10-8 record, which is good enough to make it to the first round of sectional play, but Head Coach Rick Mancuso said the team still needs to eliminate some mistakes to advance further.

"We're getting better," Mancuso said. "The girls are working really hard. We're not probably where we want to be, but we'll see what happens. We'll throw our hat out there and see how it goes."

Friday's game was a seesaw battle, with Notre Dame and Lyndonville exchange the lead just about every inning.

Going into the bottom of the seventh, down 10-9, the Irish needed to string some hits together and plate two runs to pull out a victory.

The team was loose and confident at the start of the inning and got the job done to notch an 11-10 victory.

"The girls did a great job of rallying back any time we got down," Mancuso said. "They showed a lot of character today."

In the slide show is the sequence of shots from Maddie Mancuso's slide into home in the 4th inning. She was called out. You make the call.

To purchase prints, click here.

Parents, ensure the moments from the recent basketball season are preserved for years to come -- buy prints of photos from the games of the Batavia Blue Devils and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

We captured the post-season action (and for the Notre Dame girls, the Rotary Tournament). (State championship photos are not for sale because of NYSPHSAA rules.)

Click the graphics in this post for links to the galleries of each of the games, which includes all sports covered so far in 2013 for both schools. Or for Batavia, click here, and for Notre Dame, click here.

And for today only, we'll offer one more time: become a member of The Batavian Club and receive a free 13x19 print of the basketball photo of your choice. Click here for details.

In this short video, St. Joe's fourth-grader Andres Mateos demonstrates the use of a Bo, a martial arts weapon from Korea.

Andres was one of many talented youths from Genesee County competing in the "Make Some Noise Area-Wide Talent Show" at Notre Dame High School last night.

Proceeds from this event will be donated to the Western New York chapter of "Make Noise 4 Kids," a nonprofit organization that raises money and awareness in the fight against pediatric cancer.

Here are some of the other performers:

Natalie Matuszak (Notre Dame) singing and playing the guitar for "I Wouldn't Mind" by He is We.

Nathan Beck (Notre Dame) singing and playing the original song "Can't Wait."

Kathryn Fitzpatrick (John Kennedy School) singing a cappella "Wizard and I" (from the Broadway musical "Wicked").

Matuszak and Gabrielle Linsey (Notre Dame) dancing to Rihanna's "Right Now."

Peter Kehl (Notre Dame) singing "Bring Him Home" from "Les Miserables" (dressed as Jean Valjean).

Laura Guiste (Batavia High School) singing "Love Story" by Taylor Swift.

Jon Korzelius, Tyler Hamm and Tristan Korzelius (all from Oakfield-Alabama) performing "The Pit and the Pendulum," a rock medley of original and popular rock songs.

Hailey Natalizia (Pembroke) singing "I'm Gonna Love You Through It" by Martina McBride.

Due to some technical difficulties, I was unable to take pictures of all the performers. My apologies and congratulations on a job well done to the following:

Keara Zerillo, Erin Phillips and Serena Strollo-DiCenso (St. Joseph School), who sang "Wings" by Little Mix.

Kyle Kendall (John Kennedy School), who performed a ball spinning act.

Fiona Beck (St. Joseph School), who sang and played "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones.

Jake Krajewski, Tyler Barrett, Peter Kehl, Janelle Fancher and Lydia Moens (Notre Dame), who performed a short play called "The Legend of Krately House."

Tyler Hamm and Jon Korzelius (Oakfield-Alabama), who performed a drum duet.

Tracy Read and Beth Johnson-Walsh (Oakfield-Alabama), who sang and played the piano for "Hometown Glory" by Adele.

The winners of the contest were, left to right, Beck (first place), Cheverie (honorable mention), Phillips, Strollo-DiCenso and Zerillo (honorable mention), Kehl (third place), Korzelius and Hamm (second place) and Natalizia (pictured separately).

So as to fit them all in clearly, here is a picture from the other side:

Natalizia was happy to be another honorable mention.

As first prize winner, Beck was awarded $150. He donated his entire winnings to "Make Noise 4 Kids."

Team leaders step up in big games, and that's what Mel Taylor did Sunday to help the Fighting Irish secure a St. Patrick's Day victory in the Class D Girls State Championship game at Hudson Valley College in Troy.

"I figured Mel would come up big today," said Head Coach Dave Pero. "She struggled yesterday, and she’s the type that if she struggles once, she’s not going to struggle a second time."

Notre Dame beat Oriskany 52-40 to capture the team's second state championship (the first came in 1999). It was Pero's first state championship as head coach of the Lady Irish.

Taylor finished with 24 points and was named MVP, but it was her 12 points in the first half that put Notre Dame in a position to win.

"Mel is great ball handler," senior Riley Norton said. "She’s very smart. She sets up our offense. Without her, we know we wouldn’t have gone anywhere. It was a team effort, but Mel played amazing tonight. It was a great night (of) play, amazing."

As usual, the Fighting Irish defense made it very hard for an opponent to take many shots and then keep them off balance when they do, but like the semifinal game against Fort Edward, the Lady Irish couldn't get many of their own shots to drop, except for Taylor.

On Taylor's back, Notre Dame carried an 18-18 tie into the half.

"In the locker room we all said, 'just keep shooting' " Norton said. "Miss as many as you want because it’s going to happen. It’s always going to happen. If you get down on yourself then obviously you're not going to score."

Norton, who finished with 14 points, only hit three of her 10 three-point tries on the game, but two of those came early in the third quarter to help spark a rally that put Oriskany in a deep hole.

The Irish outscored Oriskany 22-10 in the quarter.

"We tried to wear them down with our press and they finally collapsed for about two minutes, and that’s all it takes in a game like this," Pero said.

For several of the girls, this is their second state championship in 12 months. Some of the team played on the 2012 softball team.

For Laurie Call, this was her third state championship. She also has a patch on her jacket for cross-country.

"It feels pretty great, but I just take it one thing at a time," said the junior from Oakfield. "I'm just so blessed and honored to be doing this."

While Call is credited with three points total for the game, she is many ways the spark plug of the team. Her main contribution -- defensive play that makes it hard for opponents to organize their offenses -- isn't something that gets measured on stat sheets.

Call is an aggressive, in-your-face defender. That aggression got her into foul trouble against Mt. Morris in the Section V Class D consolidation game, but she learned her lesson.

"I kept saying today – no steals, just pressure," Call said. "I just kind of kept that in my head the whole day."

Notre Dame's playbooks are written around defense -- keep the other team close, because eventually, you will start scoring.

"You can't turn them (shots) down," Pero said. "Maddie Mancuso, who’s coming off the bench, she shot five threes in the first half. They’re all great looks. They went in and out. I told her at half-time, you keep getting them, you keep shooting them. One drops, that’s three points. That’s our motto, we’ve got to keep shooting the basketball."

Shea Norton also contributed to the defensive effort with nine rebounds. She also added six points.

Oriskany's leading scorer, Christina Graziadei, was held  to four points. Only one Redskin managed double-digit scoring, and that was sophomore guard Madison Zizzi, who had 11.

Ever since the Section V playoff win against Elba, the Lady Irish have been playing with more and more confidence each game.

Going into that big match with their chief rival, the Lady Lancers were defending state champions and had beaten Notre Dame five straight games, including the first two regular season games this year.

"Beating Elba just showed us we can do anything," Norton said. "We knew in our hearts we could beat them, but they came back and beat us the two times during the season. After we beat them, it was just 'thank the Lord,' and we were ready to go. We were ready to come here."

There's no doubt the Elba game helped propel the Irish forward, Pero said, but the whole season has been full of games that helped prepare his team for state-level competition.

"Our schedule really played a part of this post season," Pero said. "Not only playing Elba three times, and Romulus, but Plattsburgh was a great team in our first opening round game. They’re going to be a team to beat down the road. Then playing Batavia at the college in the Rotary Tournament, all of those things are a plus for us. We use those every game to talk about who we have to play and what we have to do. We look back at those and compare them to what we have here, it really forces the girls to focus on what they have to do to win."

When it came to crunch time Sunday afternoon, Taylor said she was so focused she didn't even realize her team had built a commanding 10-point lead. 

Before that run, she said, she gave her teammates a pep talk.

"I didn’t want another Mt. Morris," Taylor said. "I didn’t want us to go down and lose confidence. I told everyone pull it together. It’s zero zero. That shot you missed never happened. We have short memories as athletes. We need to get over it so we can keep shooting and eventually they’ll go in."

The girls all said it felt like a dream once they realized victory was in their grasp. Norton said she wasn't counting on a win until the final 16 seconds, with a 12-point lead, but even then, she still couldn't believe it.

"I was sitting on the bench and I looked at everybody and I’m like ‘we just won?’   This feeling, I can’t describe it. I’m overjoyed. It’s just an amazing feeling."

Top photo: Taylor, Riley Norton, Shea Norton and Laurie Call celebrate as time expires.

Taylor in for a lay-up in the first quarter.

Driving up the lane, Taylor passes during third-quarter action.

Riley Norton and Mel Taylor wait for Shea Norton to take her second free throw during the closing minute of the game.

Pandemonium reigned for several minutes after time expired on the championship game.

When the team returned to Batavia, the caravan of players, fans and parents were given a police and fire escort down Main Street.

Following the return home, a victory party at T.F. Brown's.

Two slide shows below. One from inside the arena, the other, post-game celebrations. NYSPHSAA rules prohibit any media outlet that received credentials from posting photos for sale, so I can't sell the photos in the first slide show. You can purchase prints from the second slide show. To do that, click here.

The Notre Dame girls basketball team just won the state Class D championship game against Oriskany. The final score: 52 to 40.

Howard is at the scene but will not be able to post pictures or do a story about the game until he gets home this evening because his laptop computer died. (I think he just plum wore it out - again.)

After a low-scoring first half, Fort Edward came out of the locker room ready to make a run at Notre Dame in Saturday's Class D girls state semi-final playoff game and managed to turn a seven-point deficit into a one-point lead.

That's when sophomore Emily McCracken seemed to take the team on her shoulders, hitting a couple of key baskets, playing aggressive defense, making steals and controlling the ball when it was in her hands.

McCracken was a substitute for team floor leader Melanie Taylor, who was in foul trouble.

"I’m like 'oh my gosh, no Mel,' " senior Riley Norton said. "But we’re a team where like all year we come together and do better. Emily came in and she did amazing. That’s just what our team is all about. We can step in and do the job if somebody is in foul trouble."

While being outscored in the third quarter 15-13, the fourth quarter was all Notre Dame, with Norton helping spark the offense, as the Fighting Irish put the game away with 13 points to four for Fort Edward.

The final score: 49-35.

The win puts the Irish in position to make a run at the school's second state championship in girls basketball (Notre Dame won in 1999) and the second consecutive state championship for a girls team from Genesee County (Elba won last year).

The game is noon tomorrow against Oriskany.

A consistent defense and strong bench were keys to the game, Head Coach Dave Pero said.

"Our bench has really, really been giving us some quality minutes," Pero said. "If you’re going to be successful up higher at this level, you’ve got to have that. You can’t win with five players at any level, but you come here and you get a little boost off your bench."

The two teams scored only a combined 19 points in the first quarter, with Notre Dame taking a one-point lead, and nearly four minutes passed in the second quarter with no scoring. The half ended 23-16.

The Lady Irish had plenty of open shots, but the ball wasn't dropping through the rim.

It was defense that kept Notre Dame in the game.

"I think our defense is doing alright if not the best we’ve ever done, so we definitely limited them," Norton said. "But we tend to start off either really, really good or a little bit cold. I think no matter what, we always push through and that’s what we did today."

In the third quarter, Taylor got her third and fourth fouls in short order so Pero was compelled to sit her down.

"We had to spell her as long as we could because she’s not, what do you want to call it, disciplined," Pero said. "She’ll get her fifth in 30 seconds if you let her. So we had to sit her as long as we could and as long as we had a lead."

Pero wasn't surprised that McCracken step forward to give the Fighting Irish a little spark.

"Emily’s been feeling her way, feeling her way all season long and all the sudden she’s popped into our game," Pero said. "She’s really given us a plus. She’s more confident handling the ball. We tell the girls right along, you got a shot, you’ve got to take it. I think once she realized she has the green light just like anybody else, that makes her more positive."

McCracken finished with six points, and Norton had 22. Laurie Call picked up eight and Emma Francis, six. Norton hit four of seven three-point attempts. Norton had 11 rebounds.

Taylor scored four points and seven rebounds and Shea Norton had six rebounds and McCracken, three.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish girls basketball team got a rousing send off from the junior and senior classes of Notre Dame High School during a pep rally Thursday.

The girls begin play in the Class D state tournament final four on Saturday at Hudson Valley Community College.

Athletic Director Mike Rapone said the school and the community are proud of what the girls have done and he said he's sure the players will represent Notre Dame well in the tournament.

Head Coach Dave Pero said he's proud of his players and that they're ready for the challenge of the final four.

The other basketball hero to come out of Genesee County Saturday was Laurie Call.

Call was given the job of guarding Sherman's Elle Reed, the top scorer Class D Section VI, who averaged 32 points a game coming the Far West Regional Championship game.

Reed was held to 19 points in the contest, and fouled out with more two minutes remaining in the game.

Notre Dame beat Sherman 70-32.

"This wasn't the team we scouted," Sherman's head coach, Mel Swanson, told the Jamestown Post-Standard.

By Swanson's estimation, the Notre Dame girls were much more proficient with three-point jumpers, which helped the Fighting Irish jump out to a quick 20-4 first quarter lead.

Melanie Taylor scored 24 points and Riley Norton added 14 and Emma Francis, 9.

Swanson also expressed some frustration with playing against a private school, which is something Setion VI teams don't face until they match up against Section V.

''It is tough. It's an inequality. Their players played hard and they were very good players and they did great things with the basketball. But when you're a small school like ours that graduates 30-something kids and you have to compete at that level It's just such a different field they get to draw from. .... "

Notre Dame enters the Final Four state championship round ranked #5 in the state and will square off against #2 ranked Fort Edward at 10:45 a.m., Saturday, at Hudson Valley Community College.

PHOTOS: By Bare Antolos. Click on the headline to see more photos after the jump.

Press release:

Notre Dame High School, Batavia, is proud to announce that Class of 2013 Senior Jeffrey Antolos has committed to attend Canisius College in Buffalo. Jeffrey, the son of Bare and Sheri Antolos, of Warsaw, will be studying Accounting while continuing his running career on Canisius College’s NCAA Division 1 cross-country team.

Jeff’s senior year cross-country accomplishments are indeed noteworthy and eye-opening as he:

• Led Coach Eric Geitner’s Varsity Boys Cross Country team to a 16 -5 overall record and managed to break four course records (Genesee County Park #1, Pembroke Invitational, Dansville Central and Avon Central) in the process.
• Was undefeated in GR-LCAA meets in 2012, as well as finishing 1^st in the Pembroke and East Aurora Invitations and runner-up at McQuaid and West Seneca invitationals.
• Ran a sub 15 minute 3.1-mile race finishing 2nd in the seeded Varsity “A” race at the prestigious McQuaid Jesuit Invitational on September 29, 2012 where he tied for the fastest Section V time at this year’s meet!
• Surpassed ND grad Dan Bobo’s ’01 former ND school record for 3.1 miles by running a 14:55 minute race at the 2012 McQuaid Invitational.
• Became a two-time individual Section V Champion in 2012 while moving up a class from D to C at the Sectional meet at Genesee Community College on November 3, 2012.
• Became a two-time NYSPHSAA Champion in 2012 while moving up a class from D to C in the State meet at Elma Meadows on November 10, 2012 and became only the 5th runner (3rd boy) in Section V history to win two state championships!
• Received the NYSPHSAA Section V Class C Sportsmanship Award for 2012.
• Was named to the Genesee Region Cross Country All Star team for the 3rd consecutive year (2010, 2011, 2012).
• Repeated as a Democrat and Chronicle Fall All Greater Rochester (AGR) selection as a senior (2011, 2012).
• Repeated as a Section V All Star 1st Team selection as a senior. (2011-2012)
• Placed 11th overall in the Nike Cross Northeast Regional qualifying meet in Wappingers Falls on November 24, 2012 – 20 seconds behind the 2nd-place finisher and three places from qualifying for Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Ore.

Jeff is also a member of our Fighting Irish Ice Hockey and Track and Field programs.

Notre Dame won it's state tournament qualifier game Monday, beating Mt. Morris 45-27 in a clash of Section V Class D champions.

Defense and a strong bench is what kept the Fighting Irish ahead all night as too often shots wouldn't drop, especially in the third quarter when ND scored only four points.

Fortunately for the ladies, Mt. Morris put only seven points on the board that quarter.

Mt Morris was held to single-digit scoring in each quarter.

"We knew at half time if we can get to 40, we're in pretty good shape," Head Coach Dave Pero said, who noted his girls missed at least 10 easy lay-ups. "We don't tell our girls to stop shooting because that is what they do, and they finally knocked some down and we got ahead."

A strong bench is a key part of the Fighting Irish strategy and Notre Dame was able to put some distance between themselves and Mount Morris in the 4th quarter, outscoring Mt. Morris 15-6.

"We try to wear teams down," Pero said. "By the fourth quarter, we're hoping they're fatigued and tired and maybe they start to lose their legs and we can get a couple of easy baskets out of that."

Riley Norton scored 12 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Shea Norton added eight points plus nine rebounds.

Melanie Taylor scored 13 points.

The Fighting Irish will enter state tournament play with a 20-2 record so far this season. The only two defeats were regular season losses to Elba, whom Notre Dame beat last week to reach the Section V title game.

Notre Dame squares off against Section 6 Class D champions Sherman at 5 p.m., Saturday, at Buffalo State College. The winner will advance to final-four play in Troy next weekend.

To purchase prints, click here.

The Notre Dame girls put an exclamation point on their upset victory over Elba by claiming the Section V Class D2 title Friday in Gainsville against #3 seed Romulus, 56-41.

The Fighting Irish entered sectional play as the #4 seed, with only two losses on the season, both to the defending state champions and #1 seeded Lady Lancers.

Rather than an emotional letdown after beating the school's biggest rival, the Notre Dame girls came out fast and aggressive against Romulus, maybe a little too aggressive.

Riley Norton and Emma Francis seemed to knock down every three-point jumper they took and Romulus had a hard time scoring early in the game.

Midway through the first quarter, though, momentum started to shift and at the half, Notre Dame trailed 26-23.

Foul trouble dogged Notre Dame, with Norton and Laurie Call forced to sit because of two early fouls apiece.

Head Coach David Pero said he had his team trying some new defensive schemes, which ended up getting players out of position. Call said she was just had too much adrenaline pumping.

"I have a tendency to be aggressive, to put a lot of pressure on defense," Call said. "I had to calm myself down, dial my adrenaline down, and say, 'what do I need to do for my team,' and calm down, not try to get a steal, but get them to turn the ball over."

In the second half, Notre Dame went back to the defensive scheme that proved so successful against Elba -- the first time Notre Dame used it -- playing man-to-man.

And Pero was also able to put Norton and Call back on the court.

It was a whole different game through the final two quarters, with the Fighting Irish dominating the Lady Warriors, including a 10-0 run to finish the game.

"They struggled getting the ball up the floor and we knocked down some shots, made some free throws and the rest is history," Pero said.

Norton finished with 15 points, including 10 in the second half and was named tournament MVP.

She said the championship and the award were real special achievements as a basketball-playing senior.

"It's the best feeling in the world," Norton said. "It (the MVP trophy) means my hard work and my dedication to basketball since I was very young has paid off. I want to keep going and I want to keep winning, but this right now feels amazing."

Melanie Taylor scored 14 points,  had seven assists and six steals, while Call nabbed nine rebounds.

For Call, she's building quite a collection of trophies at home. She was on the Section V and state champion softball team and has a Section V title in cross-country.

"It’s been so fun," Call said. "Honestly, it’s the best thing ever because the girls I’m winning with are my best friends. They’re like sisters and it’s just like this family that keeps on helping each other and we’re successful in the end."

All-Tournament team: Jamie Marshall (Elba), Zoe McDonald (Romulus), Laurie Call (Notre Dame), Melanie Taylor (Notre Dame).

Notre Dame will play Class D1 champions Mt. Morris on Monday in Pavilion. The consolidated Class D champion will then represent Section V in the state tournament, starting with a regional championship game against the Section VI champion.

To purchase prints of these photos (parents, you want to make sure you always have copies, right?), click here.

All area students and teachers are invited to compete in a talent show to raise money to fight pediatric cancer. Deadline for entries is March 4.

Go to this Web site for more info. and to download an entry form: <http://www.makesomenoisetalentshow.weebly.com>

It can be e-mailed to: makesomenoise2013@gmail.com

The Make Some Noise Talent Show is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19 at the Notre Dame High School gym in Batavia. It's located at 73 Union St.

There are no entry fees and donations will be accepted at the door.

The First Place prize is $150 and there will be other awards presented to the top talent.

All monies raised will be donated to a new local chapter of the Make Some Noise Foundation, which raises money and awareness to defeat pediatric cancer.

For more information, contact Sharon Korzelius of Notre Dame High School at: sharon.korzelius@ndhsbatavia.com

After five consecutive losses to defending state champions -- the Elba Lady Lancers -- the Notre Dame girls came into Tuesday's Section V semi-final match a little more determined and with a different game plan.

For the first time, the Fighting Irish ran a man-on-man defense.

The Lancers, who routinely score 70 or more points a game, were held to 40 on the night, scoring only 11 points in the first quarter and none in the second.

"Elba is a very good high school basketball team, a well coached team," said Head Coach Dave Pero after his team's 45-40 victory. "To shut out a team like that for even a few minutes is a feather in your cap. To do it to Elba is tough to do."

Riley Norton, who led Notre Dame with 16 points and 12 rebounds, said supporters have been encouraging the team to try a man-on-man defense.

The Irish always play Elba tough (one of the few teams that does) and maybe switching up the defense could make the difference.

"The defense worked," Norton said. "Going out and stopping them defensively is what we've been going out and working on day after day after day."

During the first half, the Lancers were often taking shots with only a few seconds on the clock. It was hard for the girls to find open lanes. When they did shoot, too often the ball didn't drop through the hoop.

"I thought, you know, we've got some quickness," Pero said, "let's roll the ball out and see where it falls. We went man-to-man and it paid off."

Tom Nowak, Elba's head coach, said man-to-man isn't something the Lady Lancers regularly see, but they've successfully played against that tactic before and they do prepare for it.

"We struggled in the first half," he said. "We didn't play Elba basketball."

In the previous five losses to Elba, the Irish have taken leads only to watch them slip away.

As the second quarter progressed, the Lancers turned a 12-point deficit into a two down, which raised the question: Would history repeat?

Of course, she thought that very question, Norton said, but she also felt this night was different.

"I knew we were going to fight through it," Norton said. "We fought through it last Friday. We’ve grown as a team since last time we played them. I knew this was our time and I knew we could hold onto it."

With the lead two, a three-point jumper from Emma Francis late in the 4th gave Notre Dame the emotional lift to hold back Elba.

"We said all along, and this seems to have happened the last four or five times they've beat us, we've got that one bad quarter," Pero said. "We seem to lose our momentum. Well, tonight, they hung in, they stayed composed and it's a great win for the girls."

The rivalry between Notre Dame and Elba is long-standing and crosses the lines between girls and boys sports and wraps in football as well as basketball.

On a slushy winter night, nearly 200 fans of the teams made the hour-long drive to Dansville for the game. Both sides were loud and proud until the final seconds of the game.

When the final buzzer sounded, Elba students rushed onto the court and mobbed the Elba players. The scene suited a championship game, not just a stepping stone to the next round.

Norton was clearly ecstatic after the win.

"This is my senior year," Norton said. "I didn’t want to stop playing. I want to get that patch on Sunday."

Pero admitted, it was a big win for him, too.

Personally, any time you can be a coached Tom Nowack team it’s great, because to me he’s one of the top coaches in Section V," Pero said. "Any time you can match wits with him,  it’s a feather, but it’s all about the girls. It’s not about me or my coaches. It’s about the girls. Without them I’d be nothing, so hats off to them."

Elba had a great run that included a state title and a breathtaking winning streak. Nowak said his girls should be proud.

"Like I told the kids, you’ll look back 10 years from now, 15 years, and realize what you accomplished," Nowak said. "I said I’ve been coaching 35 years in Elba and never did I experience anything like I did last year and this year, winning 44 games in a row. They will be really proud of that accomplishment down the road when they come back and think about it."

Notre Dame plays Friday for the sectional title, 8 p.m., against Romulus at Letchworth.

Photos: Laurie Call and Bailee Welker celebrate following the big win. Emma Francis drives for a lay-up against McKenzie Bezon. Riley Norton and Jamie Marshall fight for a rebound in the 4th quarter. Norton and Kelsey Bezon in the 4th quarter.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Melanie Taylor, #10 in the photo below, scored 30 points to lead Notre Dame over Lyndonville 80-32 on Monday.

Senior Riley Norton, below, was honored as part of Senior Recognition Night. Riley scored 20 points in the game.

Photos and info submitted by Pete Welker.

In other girls basketball news, Elba finished the season with another perfect 18-0 record, beating Kendall 74-16. Elba, reigning state champs, is riding a 43-game winning streak entering Class D1 sectional play, where the team will be the #1 seed.

Pete Welker submitted these photos from last night's Notre Dame girls basketball game. ND beat Wheatland-Chili 68-20.

Pictured are: #10 Melanie Taylor, #21 Emily McCracken, #12 Taylor DiMartino, #22 Maddie Mancuso, #5 Bailee Welker, #35 Riley Norton.

Notre Dame capitalized on a 14-2 run at the end of the first quarter to pull away from Kendall and earn head coach Mike Rapone his 600th career victory, 87-49.

After Kendall’s Dan Kelly connected on a three-pointer to tie the game at seven with two minutes remaining in the opening frame, the Fighting Irish came alive, scoring eight straight.

Jared Thornton scored the first six on the run, which was capped by an emphatic right-handed dunk by Tim McCulley to end the quarter.

Notre Dame never looked back.

Rapone became only the ninth coach in New York State history to achieve 600 wins, making Notre Dame Section V’s all-time leader in wins during the open-tournament era.

“For me, it’s a culmination of working with a lot of great young players and a lot of longevity,” Rapone said. “I hope that I impacted their lives in a little way as they matured into young men.”

Since becoming the head coach in 1980, Rapone has won 29 Genesee Region League Championships, eight Section V titles, five Far West Regional Championships and two State Championships.

Rapone became the all-time leader in Section V history in 2008, passing longtime Bishop Kearney coach Ed Nietopski with his 546th win, ironically against Kendall.

Despite the numerous accolades and number of wins, Rapone finds that working with his players on a day-to-day basis is just as rewarding as winning games.

“Winning is fun and it certainly makes coaching a lot easier, but just being out here every day with the guys is a good time and we work at it,” Rapone said.

One player who has had a chance to experience several milestones in the coach’s career is senior guard Vin Misiti, who has been a member of the Notre Dame basketball program since fourth grade when he became a team manager before becoming a player.

“It’s special. I’ve been watching him coach and watching Notre Dame teams for as long as I can remember,” Misiti said. “It’s just special to be a member of one of the many milestones for the school.”

Tommy Prospero poured in a game-high 28 points while adding eight rebounds and four steals for Notre Dame (14-0). Thornton also had a strong outing with 21 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks while McCulley chipped in 19 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.

“We continue to improve every week, which is what we want to do,” Rapone said. “Next week will tell a lot about us as we play Wheatland-Chili and University Prep to see if we are ready to take the next step.”

Kelly had a team-high 17 points for Kendall (7-6), as their five-game winning streak came to an end.

Photos by Howard Owens

To purchase prints of any of these photos or the ones in the slide show below, click here.