Leading off today: How 'bout a hand for the state of girls basketball on Long Island. Three of their squads posted noteworthy victories over New York City competition yesterday.

   Kamala Thompson had 15 points and 10 rebounds for host St. John the Baptist in a 48-36 win over Bronx JFK to complete the sweep in the Under Armour Classic.

   "We thought this game was going to be an easy one, and when we came out, we didn't realize the defense we were going against," Thompson told Newsday. "We had to prove what Long Island carries. People think these city teams are going to come in here and annihilate us, but we proved it wrong."

   SJB (10-9) played minus Brianna Thomas (sprained finger) for the second straight game.

   Earlier, North Babylon registered a 60-32 rout of Francis Lewis as Bria Hartley had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 steals in her fifth triple-double of the season. And Kristen Doherty scored 26 of her 28 points in the first half and finished with 17 rebounds in Sachem East's 67-37 triumph over South Shore.

   Back on track: Bishop Maginn lost unexpectedly Friday to Troy but bounced back yesterday as senior forward Chris Jeffers scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to beat Newburgh Free Academy 60-56 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge at Siena College.

   The other featured game of the benefit, which has raised more than $30,000 in just two years, saw Buffalo Nichols rout Albany Academy 65-43 as Virginia recruit Will Regan scored 19 points and yanked down 22 rebounds in 26 minutes. Nichols held Albany Academy to 15-for-69 shooting.

   This score just in ... : Ilion and Mohawk engaged in a five-overtime game Friday, with Ilion prevailing 80-79 in what is believed to be the longest boys basketball game in Section 3 history.

   Connor Morris made a 15-foot jumper with 22 seconds left in the fifth overtime for his only points of the night, giving Ilion the lead for good.

   Senior guard Richie Carpenter played all 52 minutes for Ilion, and Tommy Moore scored 25 before fouling out. Mohawk freshman guard had a career night, posting 30 points with eight rebounds and five assists while also playing the entire game.

   "It felt like it was never going to end," Carpenter told The Observer-Dispatch. "I know I will always remember that game. It will always be a story I can tell people."

   Schroeder selects Watkins: Kali Watkins, an assistant there the last four seasons, will replace Chris Urban as Webster Schroeder's football coach, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

   Schroeder is coming off a Section 5 Class AA championship season.

   Watkins was previously an assistant coach for a season at the University of Rochester and for five years at Irondequoit. He teaches in the Rochester City School District.

   Unofficially speaking: The formal announcement isn't expected until next week, but hard-working Adam Zagoria already has the scoop on the McDonald's All-American Game roster. Zagoria reports that Tennessee-bound forward Tobias Harris of Half Hollow Hills West and Villanova recruit JayVaughn Pinkston of Bishop Loughlin have been selected for the boys roster.

   Class action: There's been plenty of chatter and lots of e-mail circulating this week regarding the decision by Section 3 to move Watertown Immaculate Heart Central up to Class C in football next fall.

Road To Glens Falls boys hoops site

   The IHC case is especially juicy because the Watertown Daily Times reports that the motion to move up was made at the Section 3 Classification Committee meeting by Sandy Creek AD and football coach Mike Stevens. IHC beat Sandy Creek 14-7 last fall and 21-6 in 2008.

   Tough to say for sure whether the move is merited, but it probably adds to the case for automatically moving all private schools up one class automatically in order to cut down on the annual debates but then being very careful about further promotions.

   That's especially true given some of the circumstances surrounding Immaculate Heart -- namely that enrollment is projected to drop sharply next year and the team has been good but not dominating of late.

   Beginning with the 2005 season, IHC has gone 8-3 (its only sectional championship of the last 25 years), 5-4, 4-4, 9-1 and 7-2 for a 33-14 mark over five years -- good but hardly dominating. For the record, Syracuse CBA has gone 11-1, 8-1, 4-4, 6-2 and 6-4 in that span for a 35-12 record but no one is racing to move the Brothers down from Class AA despite their relative decline these last three years.

   On the other hand, Immaculate Heart is projected to be a veteran team next fall, graduating only seven senior players this coming June.

   A matter of extremes: There was an interesting juxtaposition over the weekend as the daily newspapers in Rochester and Syracuse tackled different topics.

   The Democrat and Chronicle reported on the increasing interest girls are showing in ice hockey in Section 5 a quarter of a century after Brockport's Gina Lawrence broke the gender barrier in the sport.

   Several Section 6 schools are scheduled to add girls teams next year, mostly as merged district teams, and Section 5 is slowly moving toward that scenario. However, there are two problems: Declining enrollments across the state are spreading the pool of sports talent thin and these are tough days financial for school districts. In fact, you're more likely to see schools drop sports in the next five years than add them.

   And at the other end of the expense scale is cross country running, which NYSSWA editor Neil Kerr of The Post-Standard reported on Sunday as he checked in with the four-time national girls champions from Fayetteville-Manlius.

   It's a good, quick read that provides some insight into why F-M has become so dominating in cross country.

   Extra points: Elizabeth Acee has been hired to coach girls lacrosse at Liverpool. Her father, Tom Acee, coached Henninger's boys to 316 victories, including the 1980 state Class A title. ... Waterloo AD Joe Sposato has announced he will retire this summer after 36 years as a coach in baseball and basketball, teacher and administrator.