Late-game heroics from Skylar Herrington, Kyra Pence send Randolph girls to state title game

The Cardinals led the entire game, but a 13-7 third quarter by the Wolves trimmed Randolph's lead to one entering the final quarter. To achieve a childhood dream and end Union Springs' hopes of perfection, someone on the Randolph roster had to produce offensively.

Stepping into that role was eighth grader Skylar Herrington (13 points), who scored six of the team’s 12 fourth-quarter points, and senior Kyra Pence played closer, scoring the team’s final five points, leading Randolph (21-4) to a 45-40 victory, ending Union Springs' perfect season Saturday at Hudson Valley Community College.

Herrington and Pence scored 11 of the team’s 12 fourth-quarter points, propelling the Cardinals to their first state final since 2012.

Randolph is 21-1 after starting the season 0-3, and has won 15 straight games. Its last loss was by eight points against eventual Monsignor Martin champion Nichols.

“This is the best feeling in the world,” an emotional Herrington said. “We pushed through so much, so well. I moved here in the sixth grade. Being with these people has been incredible. The environment here is amazing, and there’s so much support in this community. This is incredible, I love this feeling.”

Herrington’s performance when the offense went stagnant left coach David Pihlblad in awe. When the team needed a jolt, the middle schooler produced.

“She’s an eighth grader. It’s unbelievable,” Pihlblad said. “Eighth graders don’t do that stuff. They don’t do that stuff in the state semifinal game, and she’s just special and unbelievable. Skylar’s an eighth grader and hit the shots, just unbelievable.”

The Randolph community was loud and proud for the girls, and when then the boys' team arrived at the 4:22 mark of the first quarter, hours before its NYSPHSAA Class C state championship game, it was met with applause.

While in attendance, the boys witnessed the hot shooting of Payton Morrison, who went 4 of 9 in the first half from the three-point line, entering the break with 15 points.

“This is such an incredible feeling,” Morrison said. “I want to say, ‘I never believed it,’ but I did. When we started when were six and seven – and my dad being my coach forever – we had one goal, and here we are. I just wanted to keep my head in the game and see where it takes us.”

When the final buzzer went off, Randolph’s emotions were displayed. From Morrison jumping on Pence, to Pence, with a knee brace, running across the court with Morrison in celebration. Pihlblad and assistant Ike Morrison jumped up and down with excitement, hugging each other, and then pointing to the crowd.

Pihlblad seemed to not believe the moment. He walked briefly toward the baseline with both hands moving up and down his head for about 30 seconds before Morrison walked over for a hug.

“It’s unreal,” Pihlblad said. “We’ve talked about this moment with the girls since day one. I think a lot of teams talk about this, and our girls played so unbelievably hard. Our defense has been our staple since I’ve taken over the program three years ago, and that was, probably, our best defensive performance since I’ve been here. Our girls stepped up and stuck to the game plan. I’m so confident in these girls, they’re gamers.”

Randolph will face reigning state champion Millbrook (18-3), which has won two of the last three state championships, on Sunday at 11:45 a.m. at Hudson Valley Community College.

Panama’s season ends

In the NYSPHSAA Class D semifinal between Panama and Section X’s Hammond, the Panthers lost 78-56. It was their first defeat in two months.

Panama (21-4) was led by senior Mandy Brink, who scored 26 points in her final high school game, ending the season averaging 23.5 points per contest.

The Panthers trailed by eight at halftime before Hammond broke the game open with a 9-0 run and didn't look back on their way to a blowout win.