The LoHud Girls Basketball Blog

Update, 11:48 a.m.: There are still about five minutes left on the clock, so the game probably won’t start until 12. It should be one of the better games of the day, if not the best. There is no history between these teams and players, so it’s tough to determine what the outcome will be or how the game will unfold.

Anyway, stay tuned. I’ll have updates throughout.

Update, 12:07 p.m.: Well, a lot of mistakes, fouls and missed shots so far. Peekskill’s Jazmine Garcia just scored the first basket of the game and leads 3-0 with 4:51 to play in the quarter.

Update, 12:18 p.m.: Peekskill leads 15-9 after one quarter. Garcia has seven points and five rebounds. She has helped account for the absence of Asia Jackson, who picked up her second foul 2:16 into the game and has been on the bench ever since.

Pearl River did not have a very good quarter. It rushed a lot of 3-point shots and made just one. The Pirates also have six turnovers already, not all of them forced. Christa Scognamiglio has five points.

Update, 12:30 p.m.: Peekskill leads 17-9 with 3:48 to play in the half. Pearl River has yet to score this quarter and Scognamiglio picked up her second foul. She’s about to return, however, after a minute on the bench. Kiana Letsinger was just whistled for her third foul for Peekskill, which has already been called for nine fouls. Even though the Red Devils are in control of the game, foul trouble could eventually catch up to them.

Update, 12:48 p.m.: Peekskill leads 24-22 at halftime, but it was actually 24-13 with under two minutes to play in the half. Pearl River finished on a 9-0 run. The biggest shot was a 3-pointer off a scramble by Allison Cook. Kelly Mulligan missed two free throws and then missed a short one after Kerry Sullivan grabbed the offensive rebound. Grossbard then grabbed the rebound and shuttled it to Cook.

Scognamiglio leads Pearl River with 11 points and four steals. The Pirates will need to cut down on their turnovers; they have 11. Garcia leads Peekskill with 10 points and nine rebounds. Peekskill has a lot of foul trouble. Jackson re-entered and picked up her third late in the half. Taylor and Garcia each have two. Cathy Betances, who comes off the bench, has three fouls. Pearl River has a little foul trouble, too. Sullivan has three and Mulligan and Scognamiglio each have two.

Update, 1:05 p.m.: Peekskill leads 33-26 with 3:50 left to play in the third quarter. Pearl River just called timeout. It was a one-point game before Peekskill scored three straight baskets, the last by Tasia Nolan, who now has six points to go along with nine rebounds.

Update, 1:11 p.m.: Big moment just now. Grossbard appeared to miss a 3, but Jackson was whistled for a foul on the box out. It was her fourth. Grossbard hit two of the three FTs and it’s now a 36-32 game with 1:21 left in the third.

Update, 1:17 p.m.: Peekskill is clinging to a 36-35 lead. Mulligan just missed a runner from just inside halfcourt that would’ve given Pearl River its first lead of the game. Instead, the Red Devils are still ahead but the lead is perilous. Jackson and Letsinger have four fouls and Nolan and Garcia each have three. Scognamiglio now has 19 points to lead all scorers, including eight in the third quarter.

Update, 1:27 p.m.: Pearl River called a timeout, trailing 51-47 with 2:52 left in the fourth quarter. Mulligan just fouled out when she and Taylor were tied up after Taylor grabbed a defensive rebound. Scognamiglio just hit a pair of 3’s to keep the Pirates close. Garcia has played well in the fourth quarter, scoring six points.

Update, 1:33 p.m.: Peekskill leads 56-50 with 1:31 remaining after two FTs by Jackson. She made 1 of 2 about 20 seconds ago, but Taylor rebounded the miss and scored on a put back. It was a heartbreaker for Pearl River, or at least it could prove to be. But Scognamiglio bounced back to hit her third 3 of the quarter. Pearl River has the ball.

Update, 1:35 p.m.: So Nolan scored on a putback to put Peekskill up six, but Cook, who has been tremendous off the bench, answered with a shot from the right corner. Pearl River quickly called timeout, trailing 58-54 with 44.4 to play.

Update, 1:45 p.m.: Wow, just amazing. Melissa Loughlane just hit a 35 or 40-footer from just inside at the buzzer to tie the score 60-60. Peekskill is absolutely stunned, as a game the Red Devils have never trailed is headed to overtime. Garcia had six free throws in the final 16.5 seconds and missed all six. Cook rebounded the last one with about six seconds to play but had trouble breaking free. She finally found Loughlane, who hit an incredible shot that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Update, 1:53 p.m.: Peekskill leads 65-62 with 22.9 left in OT and Nolan about to head to the line for two shots. The game was tied 62-62 when Taylor scored to put Peekskill on top. Pearl River used up almost all of its nine lives in the fourth quarter. It may be out.

Update, 1:58 p.m.: It’s over. Peekskill wins 69-62. Give the Red Devils credit for surviving the buzzer beater. They will meet Lakeland on Wednesday at 4 for the championship.