This year, Jacob Wilcox took over as the new head coach of the Cougars, and he helped elevate the young group to new heights: the Section VI Class semifinals at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex on Thursday.

The task ahead of the seventh-seeded Cougars was a No. 3 Wilson team with plenty of playoff experience. The Lakewomen’s postseason experience showed as they knocked off the Cougars 59-49.

“I’m just unbelievably proud of these girls for how hard they worked this year,” Wilcox said. “Being my first year here, it’s great to see the amount of hustle these girls have. Having a young team like this, I’m really proud of them making it to JCC. Obviously, this is never how we want to go out and it’s really hard not to end the season on a loss.”

While Cassadaga Valley could not match Wilson with experience, it definitely matched and even surpassed them at points with energy. The Cougars played the entire game at full speed, but unlike the opposing Lakewomen, their shots were not falling.

Cassadaga Valley’s Emiley Anderson puts up a shot during Thursday’s Section VI Class C semifinal against Wilson at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex. P-J photo by Jason Bower

“It was a tough night shooting,” Wilcox said about the offense. “I know percentagewise we didn’t shoot the best, especially behind the arc. Playing in JCC, it’s a different environment. We’re not used to shooting on these rims; the court feels a little different. I think shootingwise, I think we’re a better percentage team than we were tonight.”

The Cougars shot 13 of 43 for 30% on 2-pointers and 3 of 24 from 3-point range for 13%. It looked like the Cougars could not catch a break against the Lakewomen as shots rimmed in and out for them.

Wilson built a double-digit lead by halftime as Peyton McInnis and Cait Cliffe pushed the score to 30-20. McInnis, a junior, scored 8 of her game-high 21 in the second quarter and the Cliffe, a senior, scored 7 of her 13 in the frame.

“Experience here is a different evironment,” Wilcox said about playing at JCC. “Wilson was very well coached, obviously a very good team.”

While the Lakewomen were led by a majority of upperclassmen, Cassadaga Valley’s scoring came from two sophomores and an eighth-grader. Sophomore Aliyah Hopkins scored 15 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked four shots and had two steals; eighth-grader Breonna Hopkins scored 12 points, grabbed six boards and had four steals; and sophomore Emiley Anderson scored 9 points, had a pair of assists, two steals and blocked a shot.

“It’s great getting our girls here,” Wilcox said about the Cougars’ trip to JCC. “Thinking forward, I want to be back and I know a lot of these girls want to be back. We just want to play basketball as much as we can.”

With an uphill battle ahead of them in the second half, the Cougars chose to come out fast. Cassadga Valley clearly started to frustrate the Wilson players with its press, but unfortunately the buckets didn’t come along with it. The Cougars managed to get the deficit to single digits in the third, but never within striking distance.

“The girls showed perseverance,” Wilcox added. “I know we had some foul trouble early and we had people fouling out, but the perseverance those girls showed was amazing. Never giving up being down that late in the game, still coming out and grinding with the full court press, it was really good hustle.”

Cassadaga Valley finishes its season with a 14-9 record, which is a great improvement from last season’s 5-16 record.

With the 59-45 victory, Wilson will now take on No. 1 Randolph (19-4) in the Class C finals at 2 p.m. Saturday at JCC.

CASSADAGA VALLEY (45)

EAnderson 4 0 9, Horton 1 0 2, Hattaway 0 0 0, Hornburg 0 0 0, BHopkins 5 1 12, Johnson 3 0 7, HAnderson 0 0 0, AHopkins 3 9 15. Totals 16 10 45.

WILSON (59)

Krieger 0 0 0, Faery 4 1 9, Simpson 0 0 0, Miller 1 0 2, Thursh 0 0 0, Allcorn 3 0 6, McInnis 9 2 21, Urban 0 0 0, Freichs 4 2 10, Cliffe 5 2 13. Totals 26 7 59.

3-point goals–EAnderson, BHopkins, Johnson, McInnis, Cliffe.

Cassadaga Valley 8 12 12 13 — 45

Wilson 10 20 15 14 — 59