S/J Girls Are Headed to The Final Four

BINGHAMTON - The Stamford/Jefferson (S/J) girls are among the final four teams who are in contention to win the state title. The squad secured the spot in a 56-46 win over Copenhagen in the Class D Central Regional game on Sunday in Binghamton. 

Senior McKenna Hoyt had a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds in the match-up, while teammate Tierney Turner tallied 19 points and went 9 for 19 in shooting. According to SJ Coach George Nebesnik, Turner’s level of play was “phenomenal.”

Hoyt was hot offensively out of the gate, scoring 16 of her 24 points in the first half. 

“We started out pretty well,” Nebesnik said of Sunday’s contest. “We went up early and got a few stops, but they hit a couple of threes and took an early lead. We out scored them in the first quarter 19-11 and they played us pretty even over the second and third quarters. We were able to pull away in the fourth and had a 14 point lead late.”

Early in the second half, the Golden Knights hit a big shot to get within 3 points. However S/J point guard Emily Eklund responded with a three of her own and Copenhagen never recovered. 

“Defensively, we had too many breakdowns which allowed them to stay in the game,” said Nebesnik. “Lillian Eklund continues to dominate her position defensively, which she has done all season long. Emily Eklund also turned in a big defensive performance.”

The S/J coach said winning the regional match felt “fantastic” and the team has been working on cleaning up their defensive snags all week in preparation for the semi-final match on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. S/J will compete against Batavia Notre-Dame. 

“It feels kind of crazy to think about,” Hoyt said of the victory. “We’ve all put in so much work to get here and now that it’s actually happening, it makes us have even more motivation for the next game.”

As far as Thursday’s game, Hoyt said the team is looking to win.

“But, we also know how special this is,” she said. “These moments don’t happen often and for most of us, this is our last season together. That makes everything mean a little more and we’re just focused on making the most of every opportunity we have left.”

Stamford won the section back in 2001, but they haven’t been to the state semi final since 1994. If they win Thursday, it will be the farthest the school has ever gone for a state title, Jefferson has never made a state final four.