The Chautauqua Lake High School girls basketball team was involved in a very physical contest on Saturday, but came away with a hard-fought victory. The Lady Thunderbirds defeated Mynderse Academy 56-44 in the New York State Class C Far West Regionals at Buffalo State to book their second straight appearance in Troy. Courtney Hewes (pictured left) briefly left the game early on with an apparent injury, but she immediately returned and scored the game's first five points. The senior went on to finish with 13 points and six rebounds. Fellow senior Jenna Einink stepped up her game and came close to a triple-double, finishing with 20 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, and nine blocks. Einink scored 11 of her game-high 20 points in the 2nd quarter after Ashton Albanesius (five points, 10 rebounds) picked up her second foul. Freshman Jesse Zens saw a lot of playing time and made an impact, grabbing 12 rebounds.
For Mynderse, Divya Tewari was the top scorer with 13 points, while freshman center Heidi Miller added 11 points.
Chautauqua Lake will face Section III champion Cooperstown in the New York State Class C semifinals on Saturday, March 21st at 12:30 PM at Hudson Valley Community College.
Photo by the Dunkirk Observer
