Syracuse, N.Y- 
After a game the Jamesville-DeWitt high school girls basketball team and players' parents usually go to Tully's on Erie Blvd to relax. Saturday night,they had another Section III Class A championship banner to carry with them and celebrate. 
J-D beat Whitesboro, 40-34 at SRC Arena, on Saturday afternoon to win its fourth consecutive title.
"It's great," J-D head coach Rob Siechen said. "It shows the dedication of the kids. The kids know what it takes to win. The two seniors we have here have been here for all four. It is a special thing for them."
No easy win
While J-D never trailed after taking a 3-2 lead it was not an easy victory.
Whitesboro's Gianna Gotte's two free throws cut the Red Rams' lead to three with under a minute left.
J-D senior Maddy Frank then dished out perhaps the most important assist in the game, finding senior Alyssa Robens for a transition layup to seal the win.
"I knew we were on a fast break," Frank said. "I saw her before I got the ball. I knew it was either now or never because they were recovering. I figured out that if she kept cutting through I would hit her. Good layup and it worked."
Whitesboro rallies
The Red Rams led 20-10 at one point and were ahead by seven at halftime. Maria Lapertosa sparked the Warriors with five straight points in the third quarter in a 6-0 run. The Red Rams answered with a Carly O'Hern shot off a pump fake from behind the arc. That gave J-D a six-point lead.
Whitesboro came back again midway through the fourth quarter. This time, the Warriors cut the lead to two. J-D responded with a Frank three-pointer. Her second three-pointer of the game fired up the bench and fans.
"I was feeling good." Frank said. "I was open. We were moving the ball around. I knew this was a good shot to take. I was in good rhythm. If felt good going off my hand and it felt good going through the basket."
Robens left the game in the first quarter after she fell to the floor and hurt her knee. She came back to the court in the third quarter before making that huge bucket near the finish.
"We were a little worried about how she went down and how she reacted," Siechen said. "For her to get back to the game, it was great. She had a tough game. She had four fouls. But seeing her make that basket was great."
Locking down Lapertosa
One key to the J-D win was controlling Lapertosa, the Warriors' leading scorer. She made some baskets, attacked the rim to draw fouls, and kicked out the ball to open teammates when she was doubled. But she was no surprise to J-D as the Red Rams have faced her for four years and while she finished with a game-high 15 points, she went 3-of-9 from the field.
“She is a mismatch nightmare,” Siechen said. “We tried to run a couple of kids at her so she has to recognize and deal with different types of defenders.”
Other games
Class AA - Cicero-North Syracuse 55 Rome Free 27
Class B - Westhill 56-South Jefferson 48 (OT)
Class C - Cooperstown 48 Weedsport 33
Class D - Oriskany 51 Copenhagen 46 (OT)
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