News & notes

 Women's hockey in Section II isn't just women on boys' teams (i.e. LaSalle). There is a women's league that isn't getting the attention it deserves.

That being said, Adirondack United won its 2nd straight regional title Saturday, downing Beekmantown, 1-0. Aside from the Glens Falls Post-Star, there is very little written about the United, and zilch about teams in their league. Sure, there's feature pieces in the Daily Gazette & Albany Times-Union today, but what about during the rest of the season?

Oh, yeah, not enough reporters.

The CDHSHL has decided that both semi-finals will be Wednesday night after Saratoga shut out Bethlehem, 4-0, on Saturday. The Saratoga-Albany Academy game will start at 7, with LaSalle-Shenendehowa dropping the puck 40 minutes later in Clifton Park. The winners meet next Sunday in what might be the last high school game at Union College's Messa Rink.

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Last year, the Colonie men's basketball team reached the Class AAA finals, only to lose to Green Tech. This year, Greg Davis' club is under .500, and picked up just their 6th win of the season Saturday, closing their regular season schedule with a 64-38 win over Middletown. At this time last year, the Wolfpack were undefeated. This year? 6-14 going into sectional play. Colonie will next play Shen on Saturday at Hudson Valley Community College.

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Saturday's college scoreboard:

Baseball:

Lamar 21, UAlbany 0 (7 innings).

Men's basketball:

Union 76, Hobart 69.

Clarkson 74, Skidmore 68.

RPI 72, St. Lawrence 49.

Nazareth 73, Russell Sage 65.

New Hampshire 71, UAlbany 60.

Women's basketball:

UAlbany 67, New Hampshire 49.

Siena 72, Canisius 58. Ahniysha Jackson (Albany) escaped Terry Primm's doghouse after being benched earlier in the week, and led Siena with 23 points.

Skidmore 66, Clarkson 56.

St. Lawrence 63, RPI 40.

Union 73, William Smith 44.

Nazareth 71, Russell Sage 48.

Cobleskill 104, Lesley 41.

Men's hockey:

Dartmouth 2, Union 1.

Norwich 4, Skidmore 2.

Women's hockey:

ECAC playoffs:

Union 2, Brown 0.

Softball:

Cornell 2, Siena 1.

Leigh 13, UAlbany 3.

Men's lacrosse:

UAlbany 16, Drexel 9.

Long Island University 13, Siena 12.

Women's lacrosse:

Army 17, Siena 3.

Men's volleyball:

Russell Sage 3, Dean 0.

Russell Sage 3, SUNY-Purchase 2.

Friday's sectional scoreboard, 2/21

 You'd be forgiven if there was little attention paid to the first night of basketball sectionals, considering that the six teams that played all had sub .500 records.

Men's basketball:

Schuylerville 65, Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons 40.

Cambridge-Salem 53, Coxsackie-Athens 43.

Cairo-Durham 48, Rensselaer 45.

Tuesday: 

Schuylerville @ Mechanicville.

Cambridge-Salem @ Hoosick Falls.

Cairo-Durham @ Voorheesville.

Hockey:

Shenendehowa 1, Burnt Hills-Ballston Spa 0.

LaSalle 7, CBA 0. Michael Nocera had a night, with 4 goals and an assist. Sam Branon added two goals for the Cadets, who've now won 5 in a row.

Albany Academy 4, Adirondack 3.

Tuesday:

Albany Academy vs. the winner of tonight's Bethlehem-Saratoga game.

Wednesday:

LaSalle @ Shenendehowa.

Section II women's basketball sectional pairings revealed

 As regular season play ended last night, Section II has released the pairings for the 2025 women's basketball tournament.

Class AAA:

Wednesday:

Guilderland @ Shenendehowa. Winner plays #1 Shaker March 7 @ HVCC.

Saratoga @ Albany. Winner plays #2 Colonie March 7.

Finals will be at HVCC on March 10.

Class AA:

Monday:

Amsterdam @ Troy. Winner to play #1 Columbia next Friday. The pro-Suburban Council bias is in effect, as Troy deserved a higher seed.

South Glens Falls @ Niskayuna. Winner to play #4 Averill Park next Friday at Columbia.

Mohonasen @ Queensbury. Winner to play #2 Catholic Central in Mechanicville next Friday.

Burnt Hills @ Ballston Spa. Winner to play #3 Bethlehem next Friday at Mechanicville.

Semi-finals are at HVCC March 6, with the title game March 10.

Class A:

Monday:

Cohoes @ Ravena. Winner to play Albany Academy Thursday.

Lansingburgh @ Ichabod Crane. Winner to play Broadalbin-Perth Thursday.

Also Thursday:

Scotia-Glenville vs. Schalmont at Broadalbin-Perth.

Glens Falls vs. Academy of Holy Names at Albany Academy.

Semi-finals are March 3 and the finals March 8, both at HVCC.

Class B:

Tuesday:

Watervliet @ Corinth. Winner to play Voorheesville March 1.

Hoosick Falls @ LaSalle. 

Schuylerville @ Coxsackie-Athens. The winners of these two games meet in Voorheesville on March 1.

Greenville @ Cobleskill-Richmondville. Winner to play Mechanicville March 1.

Johnstown @ Catskill.

Chatham @ Tamarac. The winners of these two games will meet in Mechanciville March 1.

Semi-finals are March 5, with the title game March 8, both at HVCC.

Class C:

Tuesday:

Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons @ Greenwich.

Mayfield @ Lake George.

Hoosic Valley @ OESJ.

Cambridge @ Maple Hill.

Mekeel Christian @ Stillwater.

Warrensburg @ Galway.

Waterford @ Berne-Knox-Westerlo.

Duanesburg @ Whitehall.

The quarters are next Friday. Semi-finals are March 4, with the finals on March 8, both at HVCC.

Thursday:

Salem @ Argyle. Winner to play defending champion Northville March 2 at HVCC.

Germantown @ Saratoga Catholic. Winner to play #2 Hartford March 2.

The finals will be at HVCC March 8.

Good luck to all the teams.

News & notes

 With the elimination of Scranton-Wilkes Barre from Arena Football 1, the league is down to 10 teams, and the schedule is trimmed to 11 games.

Here, then, is the Albany Firebirds' revised schedule for 2025.

March:

14: @ Orlando.

21: Home opener vs. Southwest Kansas.

29: @ Nashville.

April:

6: @ Salina.

13: Billings.

19: Corpus Christi. Darius Prince's 1st game vs. his former team.

May:

9: Nashville.

24: Corpus Christi. Prince returns to Albany.

31: Arizona.

June: 

7: @ Orlando.

14: Home finale vs. Orlando.

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Team USA defeated Columbia, 2-0, in game 1 of the SheBelieves Cup on Thursday. It doesn't appear, though, that Clare Hutton (Bethlehem) was a factor in the win. Next game is Sunday.

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Thursday's high school scoreboard:

Women's basketball:

Stillwater 63, Coxsackie-Athens 37.

Shaker 63, Pine Bush 54.

Cambridge 46, Waterford 35.

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UAlbany swept Maine in Thursday's games.

In Maine, the women dominated the Black Bears, 56-40. Jessica Tomasetti led Albany with 17 points. Lilly Phillips (Cambridge) added 7, and Meghan Huerter came off the bench with just 2 points in 9 minutes.

At Broadview Center, Justin Neely scored 29 points to lead Albany past Maine, 79-68. Amare Marshall added 18 for Albany.

News & notes

 The SheBelieves Cup women's soccer tournament begins tonight with Team USA, featuring Bethlehem's Clare Hutton, taking on Colombia in Houston. The game will air at 8 pm on TBS and, for Spanish viewers, Universo. Max & Peacock share streaming rights.

The downside, of course, is that the game will opposite the conclusion of the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off between USA & Canada (ESPN, 8 pm), and will finish before the hockey does.

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Albany Academy's men's basketball team plays an independent schedule, and does not compete in the Section II tournament. They had the lone game on the schedule Wednesday, routing Lawrence Woodmere, 77-50.

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The field is now set for the CDHSHL quarterfinals, which will begin Friday.

On Wednesday, Burnt Hills-Ballston Spa defeated Guilderville, 5-1, and CBA clipped the hapless CD Jets, 3-2. The Jets finished the season on a 9 game losing streak, locked in the CDHSHL basement.

Looking ahead to the quarters:

Friday:

Burnt Hills @ Shenendehowa, 2:45 pm. The defending champions are the opening act, taking on a Spartan Scotties team that has won their last two, both against the Storm. Conversely, Shen has dropped their last two, leading some to think maybe an upset is nigh. Nope. Shen will be well rested after nearly a week off.

Pick: Shen.

CBA @ LaSalle, 7:15 pm. As of press time, the site still has not been confirmed, due likely to venue availability that would allow the Cadets to play at Knickerbacker Arena in Lansingburgh, where they're 2-0-2. The teams split the season series, so anything is possible. CBA has won its last 2, while LaSalle is on a 4 game winning streak.

Pick: LaSalle.

Albany Academy @ Adirondack, 7:40 pm. The "other" Cadets have dropped their last 2, while the Rivermen won their finale. It was not so long ago that Adirondack had won the league title. In fact, it was about 2-3 years ago. They may be peaking at the right time.

Pick: Adirondack.

Saturday:

Bethlehem @ Saratoga, 7 pm. When was the last time the Blue Streaks were the champs until this year? I can't recall. Anyway, this should be a good game. The Eagles have the momentum after beating the Hawks on Tuesday, while Saratoga has been licking its collective wounds after losing their regular season finale. Bethlehem, of the teams in the field, seems likely to pull an upset.

Pick: Bethlehem.

Of course, I could be wrong.

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While we don't report on it, esports has become a thing in high schools. Troy High, for example, has an esports program, and now, neighboring RPI and the ECAC are joining the fray at the college level.

Here's a quickie from WNYT.

Competitive video game leagues? What next?

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Speaking of Troy, sophomore superstar Stetson Merritt warmed up for the sectionals by torching Schenectady for 47 points in their win on Tuesday.

2025 men's basketball sectional pairings revealed

 By delaying the women's sectional pairings to Friday, Section II suits wasted little time in putting together this year's men's basketball tournaments. One big change this year is that the championship games will be at Hudson Valley Community College March 8-9, likely due to the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls being booked for the Adirondack Thunder and/or other events.

This year's field:

Class AAA:

Next Wednesday:

Guilderland @ Schenectady. Winner will play Green Tech at HVCC on March 2.

March 2:

Albany vs. CBA, 11:30 am.

Colonie vs. Shenendehowa, 1 pm (time approximate).

Saratoga vs. Shaker, approximately 2:30 pm.

The finals are also at HVCC, on March 9.

Class AA:

Tuesday:

Ballston Spa @ Queensbury. Winner to play Niskayuna @ HVCC March 1.

Columbia @ Bethlehem. Winner plays Amsterdam.

Mohonasen @ South Glens Falls. Winner to play LaSalle in what amounts to a home game for the Cadets @ HVCC.

Burnt Hills @ Averill Park. Winner plays Troy, which also gets a home game at HVCC.

The semi-finals will be at Cool Insuring March 5-6, with the title game right back at HVCC on March 9.

Class A:

Next Wednesday:

Lansingburgh @ Broadalbin-Perth. Winner to play Glens Falls.

Schalmont @ Watervliet.

Scotia-Glenville @ Hudson.

Cohoes @ Gloversville. Winner to play Hudson Falls.

Ravena @ Ichabod Crane. Winner to play Catholic Central.

The quarterfinals will be at Guilderland March 2. Semis at Cool Insuring March 5. Title game at HVCC March 8.

Class B:

Friday:

Cambridge-Salem @ Coxsackie-Athens. Winner to play Hoosick Falls.

Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons @ Schuylerville. Winner plays Mechanicville.

Rensselaer @ Cairo-Durham. Winner to play Voorheesville.

Tuesday:

Tamarac @ Corinth.

Taconic Hills @ Greenville.

Catskill @ Fonda-Fultonville.

Greenwich @ Cobleskill-Richmondville.

Stillwater @ Johnstown.

Guilderland will host the quarterfinals March 1, with the semis at Cool Insuring March 3-4, and the finals at HVCC on March 8.

Class C:

Tuesday:

Granville @ Whitehall.

Schoharie @ North Warren.

Middleburgh @ Maple Hill.

Waterford @ Duanesburg.

Northville @ Canajoharie.

Lake George @ Saratoga Catholic.

Fort Plain @ Hoosic Valley.

The quarterfinals will be at Guilderland & Hudson Valley February 28. Semis at Cool Insuring March 3, and the title game at HVCC on March 9.

Class D:

March 1:

Fort Edward @ Hartford. Winner to play Loudonville Christian.

Doane Stuart @ Hawthorne Valley.

Germantown @ Fort Ann.

Semifinals at Cool Insuring March 4, and the finals at HVCC March 9.

Good luck to all the teams.

Tuesday's high school & college scoreboard, 2/18

 Colleges:

Women's basketball:

Russell Sage 66, Hartwick 53.

Men's lacrosse:

Penn 14, UAlbany 0.

Men's volleyball:

Springfield 3, Russell Sage 1.

High schools:

Hockey:

Bethlehem 4, Hawks 2. The Eagles advance to play Saratoga Saturday night.

Women's basketball:

Catskill 43, Ichabod Crane 36.

Schalmont 52, LaSalle 36. 

Averill Park 62, Shenendehowa 49.

Malone-Franklin Academy 69, Coxsackie-Athens 43.

Guilderland 52, Queensbury 42.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo 44, Northville 43.

Ballston Spa 59, Saratoga 46.

Hoosic Valley 47, Emma Willard 37.

Men's basketball:

Fort Ann 66, Johnsburg-Minerva 44.

Canajoharie 54, Cobleskill-Richmondville 51.

Middleburgh 71, Schoharie 56.

Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons 60, Mayfield 46.

Columbia 67, Burnt Hills 61.

Niskayuna 52, Shaker 50.

Ballston Spa 64, Catholic Central 61.

Watervliet 63, Cohoes 56.

Berne=Knox-Westerlo 61, Duanesburg 46.

Ravena 60, Scotia-Glenville 56.

Troy 71, Schenectady 59.

CBA @ Bishop Ludden was cancelled and will not be made up.