Purple Reign, Part 2

For the second year in a row, the purple clad (now black with a little bit of purple) Greece Odyssey girls basketball team has captured the Section V (New York) Class CCC Championship. Congratulations, ladies!

The game shaped up as a real nail-biter, with Odyssey trailing by 1 point at the end of three periods against number 1 ranked Avon. Odyssey hadn’t been able to play their game, mixing outside shooting with penetrating drives and cuts to the basket. Avon had effectively shut down Odyssey’s outside shooting and its penetration. But during the fourth quarter, Odyssey began to consistently get into the paint and short range shots. One crucial basket was scored by little-used Carolynn Dunne, who was also fouled and made the free throw. After that, almost every Odyssey possession led to a shot in the paint, or an open three-pointer. And Odyssey pulled away in the fourth quarter, ending up with a 47–40 win. Senior guard Rachel Pagano-Fuller was the tournament MVP, while twin sisters Hannah and Libby Meier were also selected to the all-tournament team.

Some other moments I will remember: as the game was winding down, guard Melissa Schneider motioned to the crowd to make some more noise. At the end of the game, coach Dale Meier inserted four girls who had played JV most of the year into the game, a glimpse of the future of Odyssey basketball. And after all the awards were done, the team was holding its trophy for the photographers, and then the team turned to the fans, called out to them, and held up the tropy for the fans to see as well.