RUSH-HENRIETTA, NY – Close games and winning the championship mainly seem to come down to two things, defense and free-throw shooting. Isn’t that basketball wrapped up in a nutshell?

Camryn Ford ’25 of Midlakes hits a key 3-pointer in the second half and sparked a late rally. It is finished off by key free throws to lift the Screaming Eagles to the 2022 Section V Class B2 championship, 51-41 over an upset minded Wellsville squad.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Callie Walker ’23 said. “Nothing compares.”

The number one seeded Midlakes led by seven points after a buzzer beating bucket from Ford at the end of the third quarter. It gave the Screaming Eagles their seventh different player to score points. With that scoring balance and a stout defensive effort, it was too much for third seeded Wellsville to handle.

“We planned on getting eight (players) in the first quarter,” Midlakes coach Nate Rich said. “It was nice to get contributors from everyone.”

Midlakes struggled offensively in the first half and only led 19-16 at halftime. That all changed when Grace Murphy ‘23 hit the first 3-pointer in the game early in the third. Walker then hit a pair of free throws, Midlakes led 26-18.

It wasn’t time to panic and rush things for Wellsville, but a streak of missed free throws came back to haunt them. The Lions made three of their first four, but only were 8-16 in the second half.

On the contrary, Midlakes made 14 of 18, including 9 of 10 in the last minute to clinch their fourth Section V title in school history and the first since 2019.

“We’ve been dreaming of this since seventh grade,” Kate Mahoney ‘23 said. “We said for our senior year, we wanted to go out and get a title, so why not now?”

The Screaming Eagles may have stunned Wellsville with its transition game since the half-court set has been their main offense all season. But with the way the defense led by Walker’s 11 rebounds and four blocks sparked transition, the Screaming Eagles grabbed what was there.

The Screaming Eagles could feel that championship dream come closer after Ford hit that 3 pointer late in the third quarter.

“That was a huge momentum basket,” said Rich. “It gave us the confidence and a burst. Scoring at the end of a quarter is always huge.”

Grace Murphy led Midlakes with 11 points and Mahoney and Walker each scored 10. Makenna Dunbar ‘25 led Wellsville with 10 points.