Much has been written about Notre Dame’s Tim McCulley this year, but Batavia has their own McCulley…Madison.
The sophomore has become one of the best girl’s basketball players in Section V, and she showed why as the Lady Blue Devils defeated Honeoye Falls-Lima, 59-39 in a Class A2 quarterfinal matchup.
McCulley connected on six three-pointers and finished with a game-high 23 points in the win.
Batavia got off to a sluggish start, making only one basket in the first quarter and HF-L led by two after the first quarter.
However, the start of the second quarter was all Batavia. The Blue Devils scored the first seven points of the frame and Essence Williams hit a three-pointer just as time expired to take a 23-18 lead into halftime.
“We’re kind of a second half team,” said Batavia Head Coach Marty Hein.
The first year head coach turned out to be right as his team used a 12-4 run to start the second half, behind nine-straight points by McCulley. HF-L continued to battle though, and they trailed by 11 at the end of the third quarter.
Batavia would come out fast once again, using a 12-2 run to finally pull away from the Cougars.
In total, McCulley scored 17 of her 23 points in the second half to give Hein his first sectional victory. Sam Cecere had another strong outing, scoring 14 points and pulling down 12 rebounds, while Tiara Filbert added 10 points, seven steals, four rebounds and four assists. Taylor Reed scored 15 points to lead HF-L (3-16).
Batavia will play the winner of Newark and Geneva on Monday night at Pittsford-Sutherland. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.
