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
Cortland Girls Basketball. (Photo from The Cortland Voice’s 2023-24 Winter Media Day).
The Cortland Lady Tigers won 41-34 against Moravia in the championship round of the Cortland Holiday Tournament on Friday.
“When we scrimmaged Moravia at the beginning of the season, I knew that it was going to be a team that would make us better down the stretch,” said Cortland head coach Janice Meyer. “I hoped to see them in the championship of this tournament, because they do the right things. They’re fundamentally solid, disciplined, and they’re a super tough team to beat.”
It was a slow first half for Cortland, as Moravia’s strong defense held the Lady Tigers to only 15 points in the half.
Moravia had a comfortable 27-15 lead heading into the break.
“We had our hands full in the first half,” stated coach Meyer. “We weren’t doing what worked for us, and we probably needed to be humbled a little bit after our last four games. Those little things we always talk about mattered down the stretch. Our game is to get your feet in the paint, find the glass, get in passing lanes, and pressure early.”
Following the halftime break, Cortland started firing from all cylinders and held Moravia back with a full court press.
Cortland found themselves back in the game at the end of the third quarter, as they were only down by 3 points.
Cortland’s defense did not let up in the final quarter, and continued to hold Moravia down.
Lily Yang went on to score a 3-pointer to finally give Cortland the lead. Kendall Mack then scored a floater to give Cortland a 5 point lead with less than 40 seconds to go.
Moravia’s only option was to foul and hit quick shots, but Cortland’s defense stood strong to win the game.
Here is a score breakdown of the game:
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Cortland | 11 | 4 | 12 | 14 | 41 |
| Moravia | 16 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 34 |
“I didn’t know if we had it in us to come back,” said coach Meyer. “I knew that we were going to close that gap, but we executed perfectly. Our transition to defense was solid. We had some huge defensive step ups from Lily Yang and Valerosa Gambitta. They all moved the ball well; but most importantly, we moved our bodies. We got ourselves in the paint, and we looked to make those easy passes.”
“We got really complacent in that first half just sitting on that 3-point line,” added coach Meyer. “Part of that is because we’ve seen a lot of zones lately, so we have been shooting pretty well, but we had to remember what we’re good at, and that is pass cuts, screens, and reading our defenders. So once that came alive again, I think we enjoyed it. This game was fun, and I saw a lot of smiles afterwards.”
Cortland was led by Valerosa Gambitta (13 points), Kendall Mack (11 points), and Lily Yang (8 points).
Valerosa Gambitta was also honored as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.
Valerosa Gambitta.
Moravia was led by Caraline Wasileski (10 points), Jessalyn Jones (8 points), and Olivia Genson (7 points).
With this win, Cortland improved their unbeaten record to 8-0
Cortland’s next game will be played on the road against General Brown on Friday (January 5th) at 6pm.
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
