Baldwin loses state semifinal

Lights-out shooting by Cicero-North Syracuse put an end to Baldwin’s season last Friday night in a New York State Class AA semifinal game at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.

Cicero, which led by as many as 14 points in the second half, held off a late charge by the Lady Bruins and advanced to the final with a 61-50 victory. Junior Jade Aponte (career-high 18 points), senior Mariah Butler (10), and sophomore Lames ElGammal (10) scored in double figures for Baldwin, which finished the season at 18-4.

“We’ve never had a team shoot that well against us,” Lady Bruins head coach Tom Catapano said. “We really didn’t play very well, but the girls played hard and made a run.

“If we left them open, they didn’t miss,” he added. “They also hit just about every free throw.”

Cicero, which lost Saturday night’s title game to defending state champion Ossining, sank 22 of 26 free-throw attempts against Baldwin and also went 5-for-6 from three-point range. In the final three minutes, after the Lady Bruins got within 48-45, Cicero went 13 of 14 from the charity stripe to seal the outcome. McKayla Roberts had 15 points to lead the winners.

“They were more efficient with the ball,” Catapano said. “They also scored a bunch in transition.”

The Lady Bruins’ calling card — defense — made a game of it in the fourth quarter after they trailed by 11 after the third. “Our pressure started to wear on them a little bit,” said Catapano, whose team rallied past Sachem East a week earlier to capture its second Long Island championship in four years.

Aponte, who nailed four shots from behind the arch, got the final quarter started with a traditional three-point play. Eighth-grader Aziah Hudson, junior Tiara Place, and junior Taylor Howell all had clutch baskets to ignite the Baldwin faithful in the crowd and make it a one-possession game with 3:15 to go.

“The free throws were huge,” said Catapano, noting his team’s uncharacteristic 13 of 24 performance.

“We had a special year,” he added. “It might take us a few weeks to get over this loss, but a season isn’t judged by one game. I’m very proud of what we accomplished.”

Butler, ElGammal, Place and senior Tyra Harrison all earned All-County honors. Butler was also Nassau Conference AA-II Player of the Year. Aponte and Howell were All-Class recipients.