Northville edges Elba to land back in Class D state championship game

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Northville girls basketball team was not going to be denied a return trip to the Class D state championship game; not even by the No. 1 ranked team in the state.

Northville handed Elba - the only remaining unbeaten girls basketball team in the state - a 54-36 loss in the state semifinals Thursday night at Hudson Valley Community College.

"Do you know who their (Elba's) last loss was to? Us, last year, right here, [in this] same game," said Northville head coach Jim Zullo. "So, we knew we could play with 'em. We weren't sure we could beat 'em, but we knew we could play with 'em. And we were a little too quick for 'em."

Not only did the Falcons prove too quick for this Section V foe, they had a key component the Lancers did not: Hailey Monroe.

The senior guard poured in a game-high 25 points. Her first-half high nine points helped lead Northville to a 24-15 halftime advantage.

It wasn't the most efficient night for Monroe. She shot 6-24 from the field. But she did manage to earn a number of trips to the free-throw line, where she hit 10 of 14 attempts.

"We have trouble scoring unless Hailey does it," said Zullo. "She had a rough first half; she got a little frustrated. But she's too good to stay down for long."

And Monroe didn't stay down. After Elba had trimmed Northville's lead - which grew as big as 13 to start the second half - to five with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter, she single-handedly went on a solo 10-2 run between the final minute of the third quarter and opening 70 seconds of the fourth to put the Falcons up 38-25.

Northville then outscored Elba 16-11 over the final 6:50 to seal the victory.

While Monroe did the majority of the offensive damage, the Falcons received major contributions from Keira Mackey and Lily Klippel. Mackey turned in 14 points on 5-6 shooting. She connected on four of five three-point attempts. Klippel added nine points and nine rebounds.

It was efforts from players like Mackey and Klippel who gave Monroe the confidence to keep putting up shots.

"I have teammates right next to me, who are hitting those lay-ups; getting those easy shots," said Monroe. "So, if I don't score, they will."

Monroe also had a game-high five steals. Northville had 14 as a team to Elba's eight; part of a remarkable defensive effort that kept the Lancers to a season-low scoring output.

"We're a team that doesn't want to lose," said Monroe. "If you don't want to lose, and you out-effort and out-hustle the other team, you won't lose."

Northville needs one more performance like that to claim the first state championship in program history. They'll look to avenge last year's loss in the Class D final to Hammond Central.

The championship game is set for Friday at 6:00 at HVCC. The Falcons will take on La Fargeville out of Section 3.