The Pearl River girls basketball team showed all season how quickly it can go on a run to turn a game.
The Pirates managed one to force a tie at halftime of Friday's NYSPHSAA Class A semifinal game against Averill Park at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY.
It was Averill Park that put together a run at the end of the contest, pulling away in the final minutes to defeat Pearl River, 55-48, ending the Pirates' season.
Pearl River (22-3) took a 47-46 lead on a basket by junior point guard Marissa Scognamiglio with under three minutes remaining, but Averill Park (18-5) closed out the game with a 9-1 run to earn its third consecutive trip to the state championship game.
Averill Park senior guard Brooke O'Shea scored the basket that gave her team the lead for good and finished iwth a game-high 17 points. Point guard Julia Mai score 14 points for the Warriors, making seven of eight free throws.
The Scognamiglio sisters carried much of the offense for Pearl River, each scoring 13 points. Marissa Scognamiglio made one 3-pointer and four of six free throws.
Christa Scognamiglio, the Pirates' all-time leading scorer, made one three and eight of 10 free throws. Senior forward Kerry Sullivan scored eight points while the Pirates' second-leading scorer, senior guard Allison Cook, was held to six.
Pearl River made only three 3-point shots in the contest and 15 of 23 free throws.
The Pirates trailed much of the first half, but rallied late in the second quarter to tie the game at 24-all. The teams exchanged the lead back and forth most of the second half.
Friday marked the final game for Pearl River seniors Scognamiglio, Sullivan, Cook, Christy Carty and Nicole Grossbard. The Pirates won their second section championship five seasons and became the first Pearl River team to reach the state final four.
Thanks to Chris Woolgar and Jo Mosella for statistics from the game and to Beth DeCourcey for sharing pictures.
