Cougars, Indians set for Class B girls showdown

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PLATTSBURGH | The Northeastern Clinton Cougars and Peru Indians will meet as the top two seeds in the Section VII/Class B playoffs advanced with semifinal wins over Beekmantown and Saranac, respectively, Friday afternoon.

COUGARS ADVANCE TO FINALS

Northeastern Clinton got balanced scoring as Kya McComb led the team with 10 points and 10 players scored for the Cougars in a 61-16 win over Beekmantown.

“I’m pretty excited,” said McComb. “Right now I am ready to get Peru back on the court and battle against them again.  The running game and our defense that we have been working on for the past two weeks are working well.”

“We are excited for a good week of practice and to get Peru on the court again and work hard and see what we can accomplish,” said Marlie Sample, who had nine points. 

“We definitely had some good moments and a very good fight,” said coach Robb Garrand. “We have a lot of work to do. Peru definitely has some bigger size. We have to make sure that we understand the importance of a championship game. We have to prepare mentally for just that.”

Brinley LaFountain also scored nine points for the Cougars, while Abbie Racine scored nine, Sydney Hunter seven, Audi Hollister four, Caitlin Houghton four, Gabby Dumas four, Bryn Sample three and Taylor Goodrow two.

Avery Durgan and Anna Drapeau each scored five points for the Eagles, with Bella Brown and Taylor Nelson scoring two and Jhenna Trombley one.

INDIANS STRONG IN EVEN QUARTERS AGAINST CHIEFS

Peru outscored Saranac 9-4 in the second quarter and 10-4 in the final eight minutes of play to secure a 33-21 win over the Chiefs Friday and advance to the Class B finals.

Bri Brousseau recorded a double-double in the win, scoring 11 points while adding 17 rebounds and three blocked shots.

“We practiced a lot of work on rebounding and getting the boards and getting the ball into the post,” said Brousseau. “We are going to have to come to the finals ready to play.”

“Bri has done a much better job this season positioning herself and her footwork has improved a bunch,” said Peru coach Eric Dubay. “She did a great job boxing out and had a great game today.”

Kelly Sarbou was a difference maker in the first half, scoring five of her seven points in the second quarter while dishing out three assists over the first 16 minutes.

“When I am not opened on the outside I really try to focus on finding a good pass to the inside and helping out that way,” said Sarbou. “These wins are all effort and we really worked hard for each other.”

“She is a spark plug,” said Dubay. “To only score 17 points in the first half and she had seven of them with three huge assists, that was big.”

Kortney McCarthy added six points and 10 rebounds, while Kayleigh Jackson scored three and Alli Post two.

For the Chiefs, Kayla Myers scored 10 points, while Alivia Waldron and Payton Couture had five, Allison Garman two and Sydney Myers two.

The Cougars and Indians will square off for the Section VII/Class B championship Friday, March 1, 8 p.m. at the Plattsburgh State Field House.