Bethlehem celebrates after beating Oswego in the Class AA quarterfinals on Friday, March 13. 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem celebrates after beating Oswego in the Class AA quarterfinals on Friday, March 13. 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem senior Makaya McCann drives to the basket during the Class AA quarterfinals against Oswego on Friday, March 13. 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem head coach Trish Piccini during the Class AA quarterfinals against Oswego on Friday, March 13. 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem junior Lily Griesbach takes a jumper in front of Oswego junior Giada Pezzlo during the Class AA quarterfinals on Friday, March 13. 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem sophomore Elizabeth Kearney drives to the basket in front of Oswego senior Payton Bond, left, and Madisyn Mills during the Class AA state quarterfinals on Friday, March 13. 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem freshman Macy Yoyung takes a jumper during the Class AA quarterfinals against Oswego on Friday, March 13. 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem eighth grader Brynn Elfeldt drives to the basket in front of Oswego junior Maria Sweet during the Class AA quarterfinals on Friday, March 13. 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem eighth grader Brynn Elfeldt takes a jumper during the Class AA quarterfinals against Oswego on Friday, March 13. 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem sophomore Elizabeth Kearney drives to the basket in front of Oswego senior Payton Bond during the Class AA state quarterfinals on Friday, March 13. 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem smiles after defeating Troy in the section 2 Class AA championship game at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY on Monday, March 9, 2026. Stephen Weaver/For the Times Union
Stephen Weaver
Kiana Tiernan of Troy and Ella McCarthy of Bethlehem fight for ball during the section 2 Class AA championship game at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY on Monday, March 9, 2026. Stephen Weaver/For the Times Union
Stephen Weaver
Bethlehem head coach Trish Piccini celebrates with her team after defeating Columbia in the Section 2, Class AA semifinals against Columbia on Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem eighth grader Brynn Elfeldt takes a jumper during the Section 2, Class AA semifinals against Columbia on Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem junior Lily Freisbach takes a jumper during the Section 2, Class AA semifinals against Columbia on Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Bethlehem sophomore Elizabeth Kearney drives to the basket in front of Columbia freshman Amirah Warren during the Section 2, Class AA semifinals on Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
DELMAR — While practicing Tuesday afternoon on St. Patrick’s Day, the entire Bethlehem girls’ basketball team was decked out in holiday-appropriate green, with a couple players donning shamrock-adorned top hats.
It was all fitting for the day, of course, but also apropos for a team that fortune has smiled upon this postseason.
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The Eagles entered the Section 2 Class AA playoffs with a record below .500 on the season, but a hot streak that included a dramatic win in the sectional final now has them just two wins away from a state championship.
Of course, Bethlehem coach Trish Piccini said, it’s not just luck. It’s a team that has found its identity in the postseason and is peaking heading into Saturday’s 3:15 p.m. state semifinal against Section 1’s Nyack at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.
“It’s right on time,” Piccini said. “They’re peaking right at the right moment.”
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Bethlehem (12-11 overall) entered the Section 2 tournament as the No. 4 seed after an 8-11 regular season. The Eagles opened their postseason with a convincing 31-point win over Mohonasen, then proceeded to knock off No. 1 seed Columbia before a dramatic 58-56 win over Troy in the sectional final was delivered by Ella McCarthy’s game-winning baseline jumper with 0.1 seconds left in regulation.
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The Eagles’ 64-41 regional final win over Oswego on March 13 finally got the team above .500 — just in time for the state final four.
Piccini has seen her team improve gradually. They lost six out of seven games in late December and January, and had another three-game skid when the Eagles ran into Shaker, Shenendehowa and Colonie in consecutive games, but they’ve won six of their last seven to reach the state semifinals.
“It’s really been day by day, week by week, game by game,” Piccini said. “We just show up ready to play, ready to practice. They show up for each game, prepare for it, and then whatever happens, happens.”
The sectional semifinal win over Columbia was a huge turning point for Bethlehem. The Blue Devils had beaten the Eagles twice during the regular season, including a 31-point thrashing in early January.
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After that semifinal game, Piccini said, her team realized what it was capable of achieving.
“It was just the confidence from knowing that you beat that team, when we lost to them twice — and we lost to them by a significant amount the most recent time we had played them,” she said. “So, that gave them that reason to believe.”
If that win gave the Eagles confidence, then their buzzer-beater sectional final win over Troy sent them soaring into the state playoffs believing they could beat anybody.
“It brought great momentum,” sophomore Elizabeth Kearney said. “We’ve done so much, it was just a great feeling at the end, and now everything’s more exciting and energetic.”
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Not letting McCarthy’s magical moment go to waste has been a motivating factor for the Eagles in the state playoffs.
“It’s almost like, ‘Oh, it wasn’t for nothing.’ You’ve got to keep on going,” junior Lily Griesbach said.
Keeping that momentum going won’t be easy against a Nyack team that brings a 22-1 record into the state final four, but the Eagles believe they’ve been toughened up by their difficult Suburban Council schedule.
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It also helps, Piccini said, that Bethlehem doesn’t have a clear offensive focal point for an opposing team to try to shut down. Griesbach, Kearney, McCarthy, eighth-grader Brynn Elfeldt and senior Makaya McCann are all more than capable of carrying the scoring load for the Eagles.
“At any time, any of the five could hit a shot that’s going to get the momentum going in our direction,” Piccini said. “That can be tough for opponents, because you don’t know who it’s going to be.”