A special thank you goes to Visions Federal Credit Union for partnering with us to provide the greater Cortland County community with additional sports coverage
Section III Class B Quarterfinals: Cortland vs. Utica Notre Dame. (Photo provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice).
The 3rd-seeded Cortland Lady Tigers defeated 6th-seeded Utica Notre Dame in the quarterfinal round of the Section III Class B playoff tournament at Cortland High School. Cortland won the game with a score of 71-48
“It was a really good win,” said Cortland head coach Janice Meyer. “We’ve worked super hard. These girls have put in the work for years, not only this season. We’re just not done yet, and we made sure to come out today and prove that. We don’t want to be done.”
“We knew that this was going to be a tougher team, so we mentally prepared ourselves,” added Cortland junior Valerosa Gambitta. “We went in not thinking that we were the higher seed. We didn’t take it for granted.”
Throughout the game, Cortland was led by Valerosa Gambitta (23 points), Mallory Turner (18 points), Kendall Mack (14 points), and Claire Turner (9 points).
Utica Notre Dame was led by Maggie Trinkaus (17 points), Vita Waters (9 points), and Ella Trinkaus (7 points).
According to coach Meyer, the Lady Tigers made sure to focus on their defense, since Utica Notre Dame had a couple of high level players, as well as shooters.
“I think our defense really pulled through, and our ball movement was really good,” stated Cortland junior Kendall Mack. “I am just really happy that we got the win, and that we’re moving forward.”
Here is a score breakdown of Wednesday’s sectional quarterfinal round:
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Cortland | 16 | 16 | 22 | 17 | 71 |
| Utica Notre Dame | 14 | 7 | 18 | 9 | 48 |
When asked about how she felt going into this quarterfinal game, Cortland senior Mallory Turner said, “I was very excited for this game. I wanted to win. It’s my senior year, and I've been with this team for so long that I already knew we had it in us.”
This was Cortland’s last home game of the season, as they are now scheduled to play their sectional semifinal round at Onondaga Community College.
According to Section III, Cortland will be playing in the sectional semifinals against 7th-seeded Marcellus at Onondaga Community College this upcoming Sunday (February 26th) at 11am. (Note: We will be updating this article according to any changes Section III makes on their schedule).
Here are photos from last night’s game (photos provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice):
Here is a highlight video from last night’s game (Original videos provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice):
A special thank you goes to Visions Federal Credit Union for partnering with us to provide the greater Cortland County community with additional sports coverage
