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Mar. 22—TROY — At last, Emeline Barton and her LaFargeville girls basketball team teammates could truly savor and revel in the moment.
After the final buzzer sounded Friday night, the Red Knights stormed the court, mobbing each other in celebration before quickly sitting down for a quick picture.
LaFargeville had endured the toughest game of its season and prevailed to claim the school's first state championship.
Barton scored 25 points and Margie Barton contributed 11 points as the Red Knights outlasted Section 2's Northville to record a 43-37 triumph in the Class D final at Hudson Valley Community College.
"I feel like I can't describe it," Margie Barton, a sophomore, said. "It's incredible, the first time in program history. We came out with a lot of intensity and we owned the court."
LaFargeville, which made its first trip to the state final four in school history, finishes its landmark season at 22-2.
"I don't know if I can put it into words," Emeline Barton, a senior, said. "It feels amazing, it's such a great way to end my high school career, I think it is just the cherry on top."
This encounter proved to be an intense dogfight and fittingly went right down to the wire.
"They were a great team and Hailey Monroe is a great player," Emeline Barton said. "So it was tough obviously especially picking up four fouls at the end of the third (quarter), but you have to play through it.
"And I think our team stepped up and handled it so well, my little sister Margie hit some big shots for us. Yeah, it just feels amazing."
In a tight game in which the Red Knights led by seven points heading into the final quarter, the Falcons drew within one at 34-33 on a basket from Hailey Monroe with six minutes and 19 seconds left.
On the next sequence, LaFargeville answered as Emeline Barton grabbed a rebound and Chloe Gafford scored on a putback.
Then the next time down the court, Emeline Barton hauled in another rebound and swung the ball out to younger sister Margie Barton, who drained a 4-pointer with 5:19 left to boost the lead back to six points at 39-33.
"It felt amazing," Margie Barton said. "Seeing my sister come and high-five me, it was just magical, really."
This was one of the final moments of the Bartons' sister act, which has developed over the years between the two talented players, and the 3-pointer ultimately proved decisive.
"It felt great," Emeline Barton said of the shot. "I know how good of a shooter she is and sometimes she lacks the confidence to pop it. But she was shooting it good, she was hitting shots, so if she's heating up, we've got to keep feeding her and she stepped up for us."
Later, the Falcons drew within two points at 39-37 on a pair of free throws from Monroe with 2:48 remaining.
But Emeline Barton finished off the triumph by scoring on a lay-in with 32.8 seconds left and added a pair of free throws in the final seconds for the final margin.
"I think that getting to the basket, especially my right-hand side is just my hot spot," Emeline Barton said. "It's an easy way for me to pick up a foul or finish the contact, that's just my strength. So I think just staying composed and being a leader for my team, I just go out there and try my best."
LaFargeville also prevailed in a meeting of two teams sporting swarming, furious pressure defenses.
"I can't even hardly put it into words right now," LaFargeville coach Zack Steiner said. "We talked about it all year about getting to this and just getting our name in was a goal, and we'll see how we play when we get there. And we made just enough plays to make it count and bring it home and we did."
The Red Knights held the Falcons to 18 points in the second half, including just seven in the fourth quarter.
"In one of those timeouts we were talking that this is a battle, you're not going to run away from this team," Steiner said. "They kept hitting the offensive glass hard and we were struggling to rebound there, but we just tried to keep our composure as best we could. I looked at them in the last one and said 'somebody needs to go out make a play' and of course, we got one from Emmie.
"The kid's just an absolute monster out there. What a way to cap off a high school career for her with this, it's awesome."
Earlier, Northville had pulled within three points at 30-27 on a lay-in from Karla Hill in the final minute of the third quarter.
But Emeline Barton made a pair of free throws and Elyza Smith followed through on a rebound by making a basket at the buzzer to boost LaFargeville's lead to 35-28.
"They were playing really tough, obviously it's a championship game, it's going to get chippy," Emeline Barton said. "But I'm really proud of our team how we faced adversity and fought through it and didn't retaliate back anything they were saying. So I'm just really proud of all of our girls."
LaFargeville trailed 8-7 through the first quarter, but they chipped away, leading by as many as seven points and carried a 23-17 advantage into halftime.
The Bartons combined to score all 16 points in the second quarter, with Emeline tallying 11.
Monroe finished with 12 points to lead Northville (23-3), with her fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Emeline Barton, who scored 38 points in the semifinal win over Section 10 champion Chateaugay on Thursday, generated 63 points in the two games.
"It makes feel great, obviously, but I'm just out there trying to win, I'll do anything for my team," Emeline Barton said. "But I think I'm very thankful for everything my parents have given up, they've gone to the gym with me every night for months and months. Every day of the summer every day of the school day, it doesn't matter, I always want to get better, I think that's something that can't really be taught, it's just something that you want inside."
Said sister Margie Barton: "I'm so grateful to be able to play with her, she's brought this team from nothing to up here, and she led us here and she got the win for us."
LaFargeville broke through this season after winning its first Section 3 title last year, advancing to a state quarterfinal.
"Especially after our win yesterday, I'm like 'if anyone deserves a jersey retirement at our place it's that kid right there,'" Steiner said of Emeline. "And it has nothing to do with just total amount of points, but with this run, talk about putting a team on your shoulders and just willing them to victory. She's just been massive down the stretch here. ... That's legendary stuff."
The Red Knights also accomplished winning the title while receiving plenty of support from its red-clad faithful, which packed the team's side of the gym.
"I think our community support has been so amazing honestly our whole run," Emeline Barton said. "They've just been so supportive, I'm really thankful for all the community members because it helps when you have a student section or any section, they're up cheering for you. It changes the dynamic of the gym, it just gives it energy and I think that's what they brought and we love them for that."
LaFargeville is the first Frontier League team to win a sectional title in basketball since the Copenhagen girls took the crown in 2022.
"Just hat's off to those kids," Steiner said. "Those kids are just an absolute blessing to be around every single day and I just told them that in the locker room, just how much, not just because of the winning, just how enjoy being around that core group, Because they just work hard, they do what you ask, they're polite and they just work their tails off and it's just so nice to see it pay off."
Continue reading...
After the final buzzer sounded Friday night, the Red Knights stormed the court, mobbing each other in celebration before quickly sitting down for a quick picture.
LaFargeville had endured the toughest game of its season and prevailed to claim the school's first state championship.
Barton scored 25 points and Margie Barton contributed 11 points as the Red Knights outlasted Section 2's Northville to record a 43-37 triumph in the Class D final at Hudson Valley Community College.
"I feel like I can't describe it," Margie Barton, a sophomore, said. "It's incredible, the first time in program history. We came out with a lot of intensity and we owned the court."
LaFargeville, which made its first trip to the state final four in school history, finishes its landmark season at 22-2.
"I don't know if I can put it into words," Emeline Barton, a senior, said. "It feels amazing, it's such a great way to end my high school career, I think it is just the cherry on top."
This encounter proved to be an intense dogfight and fittingly went right down to the wire.
"They were a great team and Hailey Monroe is a great player," Emeline Barton said. "So it was tough obviously especially picking up four fouls at the end of the third (quarter), but you have to play through it.
"And I think our team stepped up and handled it so well, my little sister Margie hit some big shots for us. Yeah, it just feels amazing."
In a tight game in which the Red Knights led by seven points heading into the final quarter, the Falcons drew within one at 34-33 on a basket from Hailey Monroe with six minutes and 19 seconds left.
On the next sequence, LaFargeville answered as Emeline Barton grabbed a rebound and Chloe Gafford scored on a putback.
Then the next time down the court, Emeline Barton hauled in another rebound and swung the ball out to younger sister Margie Barton, who drained a 4-pointer with 5:19 left to boost the lead back to six points at 39-33.
"It felt amazing," Margie Barton said. "Seeing my sister come and high-five me, it was just magical, really."
This was one of the final moments of the Bartons' sister act, which has developed over the years between the two talented players, and the 3-pointer ultimately proved decisive.
"It felt great," Emeline Barton said of the shot. "I know how good of a shooter she is and sometimes she lacks the confidence to pop it. But she was shooting it good, she was hitting shots, so if she's heating up, we've got to keep feeding her and she stepped up for us."
Later, the Falcons drew within two points at 39-37 on a pair of free throws from Monroe with 2:48 remaining.
But Emeline Barton finished off the triumph by scoring on a lay-in with 32.8 seconds left and added a pair of free throws in the final seconds for the final margin.
"I think that getting to the basket, especially my right-hand side is just my hot spot," Emeline Barton said. "It's an easy way for me to pick up a foul or finish the contact, that's just my strength. So I think just staying composed and being a leader for my team, I just go out there and try my best."
LaFargeville also prevailed in a meeting of two teams sporting swarming, furious pressure defenses.
"I can't even hardly put it into words right now," LaFargeville coach Zack Steiner said. "We talked about it all year about getting to this and just getting our name in was a goal, and we'll see how we play when we get there. And we made just enough plays to make it count and bring it home and we did."
The Red Knights held the Falcons to 18 points in the second half, including just seven in the fourth quarter.
"In one of those timeouts we were talking that this is a battle, you're not going to run away from this team," Steiner said. "They kept hitting the offensive glass hard and we were struggling to rebound there, but we just tried to keep our composure as best we could. I looked at them in the last one and said 'somebody needs to go out make a play' and of course, we got one from Emmie.
"The kid's just an absolute monster out there. What a way to cap off a high school career for her with this, it's awesome."
Earlier, Northville had pulled within three points at 30-27 on a lay-in from Karla Hill in the final minute of the third quarter.
But Emeline Barton made a pair of free throws and Elyza Smith followed through on a rebound by making a basket at the buzzer to boost LaFargeville's lead to 35-28.
"They were playing really tough, obviously it's a championship game, it's going to get chippy," Emeline Barton said. "But I'm really proud of our team how we faced adversity and fought through it and didn't retaliate back anything they were saying. So I'm just really proud of all of our girls."
LaFargeville trailed 8-7 through the first quarter, but they chipped away, leading by as many as seven points and carried a 23-17 advantage into halftime.
The Bartons combined to score all 16 points in the second quarter, with Emeline tallying 11.
Monroe finished with 12 points to lead Northville (23-3), with her fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Emeline Barton, who scored 38 points in the semifinal win over Section 10 champion Chateaugay on Thursday, generated 63 points in the two games.
"It makes feel great, obviously, but I'm just out there trying to win, I'll do anything for my team," Emeline Barton said. "But I think I'm very thankful for everything my parents have given up, they've gone to the gym with me every night for months and months. Every day of the summer every day of the school day, it doesn't matter, I always want to get better, I think that's something that can't really be taught, it's just something that you want inside."
Said sister Margie Barton: "I'm so grateful to be able to play with her, she's brought this team from nothing to up here, and she led us here and she got the win for us."
LaFargeville broke through this season after winning its first Section 3 title last year, advancing to a state quarterfinal.
"Especially after our win yesterday, I'm like 'if anyone deserves a jersey retirement at our place it's that kid right there,'" Steiner said of Emeline. "And it has nothing to do with just total amount of points, but with this run, talk about putting a team on your shoulders and just willing them to victory. She's just been massive down the stretch here. ... That's legendary stuff."
The Red Knights also accomplished winning the title while receiving plenty of support from its red-clad faithful, which packed the team's side of the gym.
"I think our community support has been so amazing honestly our whole run," Emeline Barton said. "They've just been so supportive, I'm really thankful for all the community members because it helps when you have a student section or any section, they're up cheering for you. It changes the dynamic of the gym, it just gives it energy and I think that's what they brought and we love them for that."
LaFargeville is the first Frontier League team to win a sectional title in basketball since the Copenhagen girls took the crown in 2022.
"Just hat's off to those kids," Steiner said. "Those kids are just an absolute blessing to be around every single day and I just told them that in the locker room, just how much, not just because of the winning, just how enjoy being around that core group, Because they just work hard, they do what you ask, they're polite and they just work their tails off and it's just so nice to see it pay off."
Continue reading...
