The third time really is the charm, at least for the Tompkins Cortland Community College women's basketball team. The Panthers took to the floor Friday playing in the Mid-State Athletic Conference semifinals for the third straight year, each time against Onondaga Community College. It was also the third time this season the Panthers have squared off with the Lazers, and in each of the previous meetings, the Panthers came up short. But on this day, Tompkins Cortland finally broke through, putting it all together for one of the biggest wins in the history of the program. Tompkins Cortland beat Onondaga 57-46 to earn a trip to the conference championship game for the first time. The Panthers will now play Finger Lakes Community College Saturday at noon for the MSAC title. The entire MSAC tournament is being hosted by Finger Lakes.
The start was slow against Onondaga. The Lazers scored first and moved out to a nine-point lead before ending the quarter with a 16-9 lead. The second quarter was fun for Panther fans. Jaida Washington (Elmira/Elmira H.S.) got the quarter started with a basket and after the Panthers cut into the Onondaga lead, she put the Panthers in front with a layup with 4:03 left in the quarter. The run to take the lead continued the entire quarter, as by the time the halftime horn sounded, the Panthers had outscored the Lazers 23-5 to take a 32-21 lead into the break. The Panthers continued to frustrate the Lazers in the third, outscoring Onondaga 15-9 to lead 47-30 heading into the final quarter. A steal and layup by Taylor Day (Brooktondale/Ithaca H.S.) opened the quarter, and moments later, Tatiana Minnick (Ithaca/Ithaca H.S.) scored a layup to give the Panthers their biggest lead of the game, a 21-point spread at 53-32. The lead remained at or above 15 points until the final two minutes, and even though the Panthers didn't score in the final three minutes of the game, it didn't matter. The closest Onondaga could get was the 11-point final margin, and they didn't get that close until the closing seconds.
The historic win had its share of historic individual performances. Washington had her second playoff triple-double and the second in program history – and she had it by the end of the third quarter. She finished the game with 17 points, 16 rebounds, and 13 blocks, which is a new record for blocks in a playoff game for blocks. Minnick controlled the game from the point, scoring 10 points, pulling down 7 rebounds, and handing out 6 assists, which moved her into first place on the school's all-time career assists list. Day just missed a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds. MacKenzie Kenyon (Ovid/South Seneca H.S.) also had 10 points to go along with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Reyanah Brown (Syracuse/Syracuse Academy of Science) added 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals for the winners.
Tompkins Cortland is now 16-8 overall, which ties the program record for wins. Onondaga is 23-6.