Leading off today: Marlboro rallied from 14 points down with 5:30 left and defeated Irvington 61-60 to advance to the NYSPHSAA girls basketball quarterfinals in Class B.
Missy Sadler posted 23 points and 19 rebounds to lead Marlboro, and Julia Rusk scored all 11 of her points in the fourth quarter. A Rusk basket with 51.2 seconds remaining put the Dukes ahead to stay at 59-58.
Olivia Valdes came off the bench for eight points as Irvington took leads of 29-23 at halftime and 43-32 after three quarters. The lead was 52-36 when Marlboro began its winning rally with an 18-4 run. Sadler's putback with 1:59 left and Rusk's two free throws gave Marlboro a lead with 1:30 to play.
Meanwhile, Marlboro's boys advanced on the strength of 10 3-pointers, defeating Briarcliff 57-49.
The Dukes shot 10-for-19 from behind the arc to snap Briarcliff's 22-game winning streak that started after a Dec. 4 loss to Marlboro. Nick Mongelli made five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.
Marlboro hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter, including three by Mongelli, to take a 17-10 lead.
Hudson passes test: Hudson put up 20 points in the first 4:26 of the fourth quarter and went on to a 76-66 boys basketball victory over Northeastern Clinton to advance to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class B quarterfinals.
"We didn't really come out strong, but we picked things up in the second half," said Zach Hedgepeth, who paced the Bluehawks -- coming off their first Section 2 championship since 1974 -- with 20 points.
Northeastern Clinton made 10 3-pointers and trailed 51-46 entering the fourth quarter. That's when Hedgepeth and Mike Alert (19 points) took over by scoring 15 of the next 20 Hudson points for a 71-56 advantage.
New year, same outcome: Jamesville-DeWitt eliminated Averill Park from the girls basketball Class A tournament for the third straight season, riding 23 points from Meg Hair and 13 from Julia Kelner to a 67-54 win.
It was the 17th consecutive win for the Red Rams, who will play Malone in the NYSPHSAA quarterfinals.
J-D trailed 19-16 when Angela Bussone (10 points) scored on a putback. She followed up with a 3-pointer to break a 21-21 tie and give J-D the lead for good, and Hair took over in the third quarter with eight points in a 90-second span, including back-to-back 3-pointers.
"They just did a great job," Averill Park coach Sean Organ said. "It was like, pick your poison. You sit in zone and they pick you apart from the outside. If you extend, they rip you up from the inside. It's hard to come up with a defensive plan for a team that's complete."
More girls basketball: Peyton Sample's 3-pointer in the final minute keyed Northeastern Clinton's 56-40 win over Glens Falls for a spot in the Class B quarterfinals.
Sample finished with a game-high 22 points.
Glens Falls shot just 21 of 76 (27.6 percent) from the field -- including 4 of 39 from 3-point range -- but took a 50-49 lead with :58 to play on freshman Sophie Tougas'
