Leading off today: The mid-week windstorm that knocked the Greater Rochester area for a loop has resulted in today' NYSPHSAA boys quarterfinal games between the best Section 5 and 6 basketball teams to be moved.
Citing concerns about traffic and logistics in Henrietta, where one-fifth of Rochester Gas & Electric customers remained without power at 1 a.m. today, Section 5 officials decided to move the five contests from Rush-Henrietta High School to Genesee Community College in Batavia.
The start times remain unchanged, with the Class D contest between C.G. Finney and Franklinville kicking off the slate at noon.
Speaking of venues, Part I ... Onondaga Community College is struggling a bit when it comes to the logistics of handling some large high school sporting events, Syracuse.com reported Friday.
The website reported OCC's Department of Campus Safety and Security stopped the New York State Public High School Athletic Association competitive cheerleading championships as well as Section 3 basketball games for approximately half an hour last weekend because of what was characterized as "parking mayhem" outside SRC Arena.
OCC officials said 76 cars were parked illegally along the shoulders on two campus roads. Additionally, several cars were parked in fire lanes next to SRC Arena and the Whitney Applied Technology Center. OCC Communications Coordinator Roger Mirabito said the school determined there was an immediate safety issue, prompting announcements for drivers to move their cars immediately.
"We get it. People are in a hurry. They want to see their kids," Mirabito said. "Everybody wants to park. It's understandable. At some point, it became unsafe."
Mirabito conceded there was a need for more signs and staff directing spectators to lots north of SRC Arena.
Mirabito said there were about 4,500 attending the cheerleading competition and another 1,500 for a girls basketball game Saturday.
Concession stands inside SRC were also a problem, with long lines clogging aisles and hindering access to restrooms.
Speaking of venues, Part II ... You may have noticed -- and my email inbox strongly suggests you did -- I was in a fairly lively Twitter discussion with a couple of reporters early this week centering around travel distances for state tournaments and lingering bruised feelings about longtime hosts losing NYSPHSAA hockey and boys basketball finals to other cities.
Possibly inspired by the online chatter, Rob Centorani of the Press & Sun-Bulletin sent up a bit of a warning flare to Binghamton that the pressure's on to score a home run next weekend as host of the NYSPHSAA boys basketball tournament.
"Binghamton will need a big performance next weekend, better than any of the 20 talented teams that will visit the area," he wrote. "No mistakes. The appearance has to be that the event has been here for 10 years. It has to be smooth the first year. It's a three-year contract and if things go wrong, if rookie miscues occur, it won't go beyond three years."
CHSAA girls basketball: Freshman guard Kateri Poole delivered the go-ahead 3-point basket with 33 seconds left to help Monsignor Scanlan to a 53-49 win over St. Anthony's in the state Class AA semifinals Friday.
Poole finished with a team-high 14 points as Scanlan (22-7) advanced to the title game for the second consecutive year.
"She's a gamer. She's going to be a great player. She's evolved through the whole season," coach Tom Catalanotto said. "She is scoring 15 points, 5 or 6 assists and coming down with 6 or 7 rebounds and all of those numbers are tremendous."
Scanlan's opponent in the final will be The Mary Louis Academy, which placed four players in double figures during an 80-70 win over Cardinal O'Hara. Danielle Patterson led TMLA (20-7) with a game-high 25 points and Vanerlie Valcourt added 18, including a three-quarters-court heave to end the first quarter.
O'Hara pulled within a point in the third quarter before TMLA reeled off 17 consecutive points.
TMLA defeated Scanlan twice this season, including Tuesday for the CHSAA city Class AA championship.
• Buffalo's Sacred Heart will play for the Class A championship after beating Monsignor McClancy 60-51. Micaela Ryan finished with 25 points and teammate Jen Grimm scored 10 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter and also had 16 rebounds.
Sacred Heart rallied from five points down at the end of the third quarter.
