HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS' BASKETBALL: ND BEGINS NEW YEAR WITH A WIN AT EDISON (24 PHOTOS) (January 3, 2023)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
ELMIRA HEIGHTS — While the host Edison Spartans were deadly from beyond the arc, Shannon Maloney and the Crusaders were a force attacking the basket, and that helped lead Notre Dame past Edison 56-50 on Tuesday night.

Notre Dame led 16-7 after one quarter, but the Spartans had a 22-point second quarter and the Crusaders lead was 31-29 at the break.

Notre Dame went up 45-38 after three, but Edison was able to get within a point in the fourth quarter.

Payton Littlefield hit three free throws midway through the fourth to get the Spartans within one, but Mallory Sheehan answered with a three and Notre Dame was able to hold on for the win to begin the new year.

“It’s great, I love it, fresh start, we are going to get dubs (wins) all season,” Sheehan said.

For Notre Dame it was a strong effort by Maloney, particularly in the first and third quarters.

Maloney had 26 points, 24 of them in the first and third quarters, including 13 in the third quarter. She had 12 field goals in the game.

“We have a lot of plays that revolve around Shannon,” Sheehan said. “Shannon, she’s our biggest girls, she can get around those things, we can always rely on her.”

Sheehan had 14 points for Notre Dame, including seven in the final quarter. She had three threes in the win.

“It’s great, it feels great, we all played good together,” Sheehan said of the win.

A year ago the Crusaders struggled with Edison, so to get a win on the road against a good team was big.

“Last year we were struggling playing this team,” Sheehan said. “It feels really good. It was a great game today.

Ava Mustico and Payton Miller had six points each for Notre Dame and Madison Fargo finished with four points.

Littlefield had a big game for the Spartans, hitting seven threes on her way to 25 points. She had 12 points, on four threes, in the second quarter and then nine points in the fourth, with a pair of threes and she was 4-for-4 from the line in the quarter.

Gianna McGee had 11 points for Edison, five points in each the second and third quarters.

Gabby Milazzo had nine points, on three threes and Charlee Stroman had three points, while Harper Hoffmann finished with two points.

The Spartans hit 13 threes in the game.

Notre Dame has a big non-league game on Friday when they host Union-Endicott, the seventh ranked Class A team in the state.

“It’s going to help us like crazy,” Sheehan said of playing big schools like U-E. “We are going to go as hard as we can and hopefully we do great in the playoffs.”
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IN TOP PHOTO: Notre Dame’s Mallory Sheehan. . . PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES