NYSPHSAA GIRLS' BASKETBALL: HORSEHEADS' MAGICAL SEASON ENDS IN STATE SEMIS (9 PHOTOS) (March 21, 2026)

Southern Tier Sports Report
TROY — A magical season came to an end for the Horseheads girls’ basketball team with a 57-35 loss to North Tonawanda in the state semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

“We came out and missed a couple looks early and I think with a young team that didn’t help our confidence,” Horseheads coach Andy Scott said. “North Tonawanda is ranked number one in the state for a reason. They have great size, length and talent and that affected our offensive production a little.

“To our girls credit, our defense never wavered. We were down, but had kids diving all over the floor and working their tails off.”

North Tonawanda led 18-5 after one quarter and 33-16 at the half. A 14-3 third quarter put North Tonawanda up 47-19 heading into the fourth quarter.

Annabelle Day had 15 points, seven assists and eight boards, with two steals, getting her 2,000th career point in the victory.

Jakayla Brown had 13 points for North Tonawanda and Lily Day had 10 points, five assists and four boards. 

Samantha Bonnell had 11 points for Horseheads with two steals and two boards and Maddie Ribble had eight points and three rebounds, with two steals.

Maggie Tremaine had six points, two steals and two rebounds and Giana Hughey had nine boards with four points and two steals.

Peyton Butts had three points and Ellie Jankowski had four steals and two points, while Sadie Gustin had one point. 

For Horseheads this was a successful season that saw them go further than they had in over 20 years.

“This group took the next step,” Scott said. “In 2023 we won the STAC Conference Championship, in 2024, we repeated as STAC Champions and won our first sectional title in nine years. In 2025 we repeated as sectional champs and this year we made it a three-peat for sectionals, and also won the regionals for the first time in 24 years. We made school history and these girls made the community proud. 

“I am really proud of the 11 varsity girls and the four JV call-ups. All year they put the team before themselves and made school history. They exemplified what team is all about. They went 125 days, which literally spanned three seasons (fall, winter and spring) and they never had a bad day. I never heard a complaint from a player or a parent in four months and that’s why teams win. Because it’s about the betterment of everyone rather than one.”

For the seniors this marks careers that saw a lot of success.

“I want to give credit to our seniors,” Scott said. “Some didn’t see a lot of minutes, but they showed up every day and worked really hard. They never had a bad day. They walked in with a smile and they pushed their teammates to be the best they could be. I couldn’t ask for five better and unselfish kids. They are the true definition of what a winner is. Lexi Lese, Lauren Kozemko, Grace Cronin, Peyton Butts and Sadie Gustin are outstanding young women who will be leaders in life. It’s been an honor to coach such amazing people.”
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF JEFF MLINAR/EMPIRE STATE TAKEOVER
Empirestatetakeover.com

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