Latest news with #LaFargeville
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
All-North Frontier League girls basketball MVP: Barton, LaFargeville completed the mission
Apr. 18—LAFARGEVILLE — Last season, Emeline Barton and her LaFargeville girls basketball teammates experienced a breakout campaign. The Red Knights captured the first Section 3 title in program history, but then were soundly beaten in a state quarterfinal by eventual state champion Hammond. Advertisement This proved to be a vital learning experience as well as motivation heading into this past season. LaFargeville returned even stronger, ultimately making a run to their own state championship. Led by Barton, a versatile senior guard who became even more of a complete player, the Red Knights generated a school record 22-win season and achieved even more goals on their list and orchestrated a successful run through all of the state playoffs. "I don't think it's completely settled in with all of us yet, I think we're still kind of like almost a little bit in shock," she said. "But we made goal cards at the beginning of the season and it was pretty much on all of our cards, so it's just really cool to check that off our list of things to do, and it's something I've always wanted to do at least once in my high school career, so I'm really thankful and happy that we got to achieve that, get all the way there and win it this year." For her efforts, Barton has been named as the Times All-North Most Valuable player representing the Frontier League. Advertisement "I'm very grateful, it's super awesome and an honor to be named that," she said. "I think that there's a lot of very great players in the north country, so it's just really cool to receive that award." "She is very well-rounded, and not just as an athlete, but as a human being in general," LaFargeville coach Zack Steiner said. "I've told her this many times and talking about her at our sports banquet, but I thought that her leadership this year was one of her best qualities outside of just looking at the stat sheet. She's come a long way with just being such a positive leader and just doing things the right way. She's been a great leader for us." Barton diversified her game even further, developing into more of a facilitator on the court in setting up her teammates, rather then primarily shooting the ball. "I think that this year, especially, a lot of the girls went to open gyms over the summer, a lot of the girls travel-teamed over the summer," Barton said. "So I think that trusting my teammates and their abilities really helped us get to the point where we got to the point where we ended, I think that really just helped us. I mean, I always have trust in my teammates, but I think this year a lot of them really stepped up in their roles, and they had a lot of key moments and parts to why we made it that far and why we won." Advertisement This season, Barton averaged 25.6 points per game, as well as totaling team highs in rebounds (151), assists (78) and steals (135). "Thankfully this year, I think she got to play off the ball a little bit more because her sister Margie stepped up into more of a ball-handling role," Steiner said. "I mean she still had the ball in her hands quite a bit, she's a ball-dominant guard, she was our point guard, shooting guard most of the year. But I think her whole makeup just changed I feel this year, she took a lot less threes this season and tried to get to the basket a lot more. "Because she's a good free-throw shooter, so she was able to get inside and draw contact and get to the line quite a bit. "She's a great finisher, especially through contact with tough angles and tough driving lanes, she can just finish really well." Barton finished with 1,813 career points in four varsity seasons, including her freshman season at Immaculate Heart Central before transferring to her hometown of LaFargeville before her sophomore campaign. Advertisement This led to LaFargeville generating even more success this season, as following the regular season in which it won the league's "C-D" Division title with a 12-0 record, it secured the "D" Division's playoff title for the second straight season. "It definitely wasn't easy," Emeline said of the team's postseason run. "All the teams that we played obviously were all very good, they didn't want their season to end, we didn't want our season to end, so it was just really physical and I feel like they were defensively-minded games." After defeating Copenhagen in a sectional semifinal, the Red Knights outlasted another division foe in Sackets Harbor, 54-35, to claim its second consecutive Section 3 title. LaFargeville took another big step when it defeated South Kortright/Andes, 56-47, to win a state quarterfinal at Tompkins-Cortland Community College to become the first basketball team from the school to reach a state final four. Advertisement Undaunted, the Red Knights topped Section 10 champion Chateaugay, 56-41, to win an all-north country state semifinal held at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. Barton once again led the way, this time pouring in 38 points, including faring 14-for-27 from the field. The next day, LaFargeville achieved the ultimate as it outfought Section 2's Northville in a 43-37 decision to claim the Class D state championship on March 21. "Northville was really, really physical and obviously they're all great players," she said. "I think that in the past and at that point of the season, we had seen pretty much every defense, so we've become pretty accustomed to what plays to run and how to set up in our offense. So I think just getting to play in all different types of games in different types of atmospheres really helped us, especially against a team like them who were very physical and an overly strong team." "She was just engaged the entire time as a leader," Steiner said. "And again, she's always led by example, but I thought her vocal leadership came out so much her senior year, it was awesome and it was great to see." Advertisement Barton considered the who season experience "special," especially the support the team received by the small-town community. "I think that with it being a small community when things like this happen, it just brings everybody together and gives people a reason to get out of their house, go watch a game, just gives people some excitement. And I think that's what we did and I'm really grateful that we got to do that and I hope that everyone continues to show support over the next few years, too. That was just awesome to see everyone." LaFargeville also benefitted from the chemistry between Barton and younger sister and sophomore Margie Barton. "We obviously played together since we were little, whether that be in the backyard or little league games to travel league games, we've always just played together," Emeline said. "So I think that knowing our tendencies as players really helped each other out, like knowing when she's going to shoot, or knowing when she's going to cut to the basket, I think little things like that and just understanding each other really helped us as well." Advertisement While Emeline supplied 25 points and 11 rebounds in the final, Margie contributed 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, including one decisive three in the closing minutes of the game. Among those also seriously considered for All-North MVP honors was Immaculate Heart Central senior Abby Bombard, who was selected as the league's "AA-A-B" Division most valuable player and guided her team to the sectional semifinals in Class D. Emeline Barton has committed to attend Houghton University in western New York, which plays at the Division III level. She'll play basketball at the Christian-based school and hopes to one day pursue a career in the medical field. "And I do plan to play basketball there," she said. "When I went on my visit, I just really loved all the players and the coaching staff, they're just like very nice and they have a strong program, so I think that was just the best fit for me out of my options. It's really cool, I'll get to play basketball, further my education and further my faith, so that's not something that many people get to do, and I'm grateful I'll get to do it."
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
LaFargeville comes together to welcome home STATE CHAMPS
Mar. 23—LAFARGEVILLE — The LaFargeville Lady Red Knights varsity basketball team made its journey home on Saturday to a crowd waiting to celebrate the team's winning its first state championship. LaFargeville defeated Northville Friday by a score of 43-37 to capture the state Class D championship. Community members and fans such as Kim and William Rapin were at the parade to celebrate their players. For the Rapins, they were there for their granddaughter, Adeline Hellings, a junior center. "We're so proud of Adeline and her team, they worked so hard," Kim Rapin said. "They worked really hard and they're just wonderful young ladies." As the team made its way back from Troy, they were escorted by local emergency personnel, and with spectators lined up on each side of the road, the girls pulled into their school and then proceeded to celebrate both in the gymnasium and outside. Also in the crowd to welcome home the champions was Susie Erck, a third grade teacher in the district. She said she was there to support every player and the third grade manager. "I'm so excited," she said. Erck was in attendance for the Final Four game and watched the championship game last night at home. "We were cheering, we had our dog cheering with us," she said of last night. "It's just such an honor and I'm so proud of these girls and everything they worked for." She said that "it's amazing" to see these girls from a small school win a state championship. "It's so crazy to think because we are such a tiny school but they worked really, really hard and I'm just really proud of this accomplishment for them," she said. Adeline said it was great to see the community come out and support the team. "It's so big for our town and just seeing all the love from everybody, it means the world to all of us," she said. Ella Hunnyman, a junior guard, said "it's just awesome" to see the community support. "We've been waiting for this," she said. "This is what we have dreamed of. This is what we have worked for. All the sweat, tears, blood, everything, and practice. This is wild." As the buzzer sounded, Hellings said she wanted to go celebrate with her teammates. "It was just all crazy, but it was all amazing," she said. Coach Zack Steiner said when the clock struck zero, he was feeling elated to bring the school its first state title "To do something for the first time in 2025 in a school that's 100 years old, it's so impressive and you just have to tip your cap to that group of kids because they earned every second of it," he said. Steiner called the parade "awesome to see." "I think these events are more meaningful in these small towns because it just gives everybody something to gravitate towards and look forward to," he said. "You look up into that stands yesterday and there's, three, four, again 500 people there. It's really special." Sarah Sourwine, a junior, said she didn't know how excited she'd be until the buzzer sounded, and then she said "you can't really process it." "It's crazy and I'm just glad that we were able to experience it with this group of girls," she said. Sourwine said no one else will be able to understand the bond these champions have for the rest of their lives. The team finished with a record of 22-2.
NBC News
23-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC News
Girls basketball coach in upstate New York fired after pulling player's ponytail in angry confrontation
A high school in upstate New York fired its Hall of Fame girls basketball coach over the weekend after he violently yanked the ponytail of his star player and then appeared to berate her following an emotional loss. The ugly incident unfolded after Northville High School lost to La Fargeville, 43-37, in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D finals at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. Northville's Hailey Monroe, the Falcons' star senior who scored 12 points in the final, was standing with her teammates after the game and appeared to be crying in the wake of the emotional setback. That's when cameras captured Falcons coach Jim Zullo coming from behind and pulling Monroe's hair. Zullo appeared to yell at Monroe before a teammate, Ahmya Tompkins, intervened. Tompkins also happens to be the coach's great niece, T he Daily Gazette of Schenectady and other local news outlets had previously reported. 'The Northville Central School District is aware of, and deeply disturbed by, the conduct of the Coach of the Girls' Varsity basketball team during the Class D New York State championship game,' the school district said in a statement posted to social media on Saturday. 'The District is committed to ensuring that this type of behavior has no place within our programs, and we will continue to uphold the values of respect and integrity that our athletes, families and community expect and deserve. This individual will no longer be coaching for the Northville Central School District.' Zullo was unable to be reached for comment. Members of the district's board of education declined to comment beyond the social media statement. 'This is now a personnel matter,' board President Carolyn Wilcox wrote in an email. 'We are turning our attention to our young athletes to ensure their wellbeing at this very difficult time.' Zullo is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame, having previously led Shenendehowa High School to the large school Class A state title in 1987. He reportedly came out of retirement at the encouragement of his wife, who died last year after a yearslong battle with cancer. 'She was my dad's biggest supporter and biggest fan,' his son Sam Zullo, who also coached a girls basketball team in Connecticut, told T h e Associated Press. 'She was my biggest supporter and biggest fan.'
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fired high school girls basketball coach apologizes for hair-pulling incident with player
NORTHVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — A coach who was fired within hours of pulling a player's ponytail after a loss in a New York girls basketball state championship game issued an apology Sunday, saying his actions were unacceptable. Jim Zullo, formerly the coach of the girls team at Northville Central, was dismissed by the school in the Adirondacks after video footage showed him pulling the hair of player Hailey Monroe moments after their team lost the Class D state final to La Fargeville, 43-37 on Friday night. 'I deeply regret my behavior following the loss to La Fargeville Friday night in the Class D state championship game," Zullo said in the statement, which was first obtained by Albany-area television station WNYT. "I want to offer my sincerest apologies to Hailey and her family, our team, the good folks at Northville Central Schools and our community. 'As a coach, under no circumstance is it acceptable to put my hands on a player, and I am truly sorry. I wish I could have those moments back.' The incident happened as the teams were lining up for the postgame ceremony, which included handshakes between the teams and the presentation of awards following the title game at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. Zullo, 81, coached at Northville for the past two seasons and took the team to the state final in each of those years. He was a highly successful boys coach in the state for decades, winning a state championship with Shenendehowa High in 1987, before beginning to coach girls in Northville in 2023. He took the Northville job, in part, at his wife's urging while she was dying of cancer. His wife died during the 2023-24 season. 'I am grateful for the opportunity to have coached girls basketball at Northville the past two years, especially last season, which was a difficult time for our family,' Zullo said. "I am super proud of every one of these young women and what they accomplished. I know each of them will go on to do great things and I wish them well.' The Northville school district said Friday night in the statement announcing that Zullo would no longer be coaching at the school that it wants to 'assure the public that this matter is being taken extremely seriously, and the District is actively addressing it.' ___ AP sports:
