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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. The Irvington girls basketball team finds itself on the verge of winning a third consecutive Section 1 Class B championship Saturday when the top-seeded Bulldogs take on No 2 Blind Brook in a 7 p.m. tipoff at the Westchester County Center.
Irvington (19-1) must take care of local business before setting its sights on a third-straight New York State Public Schools championship as the postseason playoffs continue, while Blind Brook looks to upset the favored Bulldogs.
Blind Brook survived a scare in its overtime victory over Dobbs Ferry in the semifinals when Ali Silfen scored on a short jumper with less than 10 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Trojans a 67-66 lead and made two free throws to seal the 69-66 win. Silfen scored 26 and Leah Saliba added 24 in the win.
The Bulldogs shook off an early slow start to run past the Kennedy Catholic Gaels in their semifinal, earning a 56-35 victory to advance to the final for the third straight year. Lexi Martins led the Bulldogs in scoring and Brittni Lai and Marley Giddins contributed to the scoring.
Irvington should not look past the Trojans, who have a good interior defense and a double dose of offense from Silfen and lefty guard Leah Saliba, who can score on the drive and from the perimeter. Blind Brook played a tight defense in the first half of the win over Dobbs Ferry but allowed the Eagles to drive the basketball in the second-half comeback that erased a nine-point lead.
Lai, Martins and Giddins get support from Alyssa DiCampli on both ends of the court and the Bulldogs will learn from the slow start against Kennedy and come out shooting.
Irvington should win this one by 10 or more points. Blind Brook must make its free throws and get the ball inside to Silfen and Jacqueline Lavitt to have any chance of winning.
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