{"id":150105,"date":"2026-03-27T15:25:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T15:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/150105\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T15:25:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T15:25:30","slug":"bethlehem-beats-troy-to-win-section-2-class-aa-girls-basketball-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/150105\/","title":{"rendered":"Bethlehem beats Troy to win Section 2 Class AA girls’ basketball title"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

The section 2 Class AA champion Bethlehem after defeating Troy at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY on Monday, March 9, 2026. Stephen Weaver\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n

Stephen Weaver\"Bethlehem<\/p>\n

Bethlehem head coach Trish Piccini with championship plaque 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<\/p>\n

Stephen Weaver\"Bethlehem<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Stephen Weaver\"Bethlehem<\/p>\n

Bethlehem supporters celebrating 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<\/p>\n

Stephen Weaver\"Bethlehem<\/p>\n

Bethlehem head coach Trish Piccini celebrates 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<\/p>\n

Stephen Weaver\"Lily<\/p>\n

Lily Greisbach of Bethlehem takes a shot in front of Mia Magnetto of Troy 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<\/p>\n

Stephen Weaver\"Kiana<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Stephen Weaver\"Addie<\/p>\n

Addie Harkin of Troy takes a shot against Bethlehem 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<\/p>\n

Stephen Weaver\"Amaya<\/p>\n

Amaya Harris of Troy looks for a teammate while being covered by Elizabeth Kearney of Bethlehem 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<\/p>\n

Stephen Weaver<\/p>\n

TROY\u00a0\u2014 For most of the Bethlehem girls’ basketball season, postseason success looked unlikely for an Eagles team with a losing record in the Suburban Council.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But the young team found its identity in the Section 2 Class AA playoffs<\/a> and delivered at the season\u2019s most critical point<\/a>, securing\u00a0a championship.<\/p>\n

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The Eagles trailed second-seeded Troy by eight points Monday evening with three minutes remaining, but battled back to forge a tie and then secured the Section 2 Class AA title as junior guard Ella McCarthy hit a baseline jumper with one-tenth of a second left to provide fourth-seeded Bethlehem a thrilling 58-56 victory over the Flying Horses at Hudson Valley Community College.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat game was a battle,\u201d said McCarthy, who scored six points and added three assists. \u201cThey are much bigger than us. This has been a crazy season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bethlehem (11-11) twice lost to top-seeded Columbia during the regular season, but then beat the Blue Devils 57-46<\/a> in the semifinals Saturday. Monday, the Eagles knocked off a Troy squad that they had lost to 59-50 on Jan. 21.<\/p>\n

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Makaya McCann, named the tournament\u2019s most valuable player after scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds Monday, tied the game at 56 with a basket in the paint. Troy (20-3) called time with 23.6 seconds left. Following the break, Bethlehem ended up double-teaming freshman guard Amaya Harris. She passed the ball to senior guard Mia\u00a0Magnetto, who missed on a 3-pointer. Teammate Gabby Hansen grabbed the rebound, but she missed on a follow-up attempt. Bethlehem called time with 7.4 seconds remaining.<\/p>\n

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\"Amaya<\/p>\n

Amaya Harris of Troy takes a shot against Bethlehem 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<\/p>\n

Stephen Weaver<\/p>\n

The play Bethlehem intended to run didn\u2019t materialize. McCarthy eventually got the ball in front of her bench and started moving toward the baseline. She then put on the brakes, gathered herself and hoisted the game-winning shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of muscle memory,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cI knew if I went backwards, (my defender) might try to foul me. She didn\u2019t go with me, so I (just shot it).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we didn\u2019t have to score because it was tied,\u201d Bethlehem coach Trish Piccini said. \u201cIf you have an open shot, you take it. That is what she did. It was not the original play, but it just shows you that every girl on the team stepped up.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It was a painful conclusion for Troy, which stormed back to gain the lead in the second half after an inauspicious start. The Colonial Council champions fell in an early 10-0 hole and trailed 17-11 after the first quarter.<\/p>\n

Bethlehem led 31-26 at halftime, but Troy mounted a strong push during the third, fueled by Harris, who finished with a game-high 26 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. The freshman, a three-year starter, drained a 3-pointer to provide Troy its first lead at 39-36.<\/p>\n

Troy, which was seeking the program\u2019s first sectional title since capturing the 2013 Class A state title, maintained the advantage the rest of the way until McCarthy\u2019s dramatic jumper.<\/p>\n

\"Kashiya<\/p>\n

Kashiya Armstrong of Troy reaches for a loose ball against Bethlehem 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<\/p>\n

Stephen Weaver<\/p>\n

The Flying Horses led 55-47 following a jumper from junior Addie Harkin (12 points). Troy\u2019s final five possessions, however, resulted in 1-for-6 shooting from the foul line, including five straight misses, one turnover, and two missed shots.<\/p>\n

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After shooting 63.2% (12-for-19) in the first half, the Eagles shot just 8-for-25 after intermission. Bethlehem survived with some gritty defense down the stretch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no words, except to say I am incredibly proud of them,\u201d Piccini said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The victory provided Bethlehem with its first sectional title since winning the Class AA championship in 2015. Up next for the Eagles is a Class AA state quarterfinal contest Friday at HVCC against Section 3 champion Oswego (14-8). The third-seeded Buccaneers upset No. 1 seed Nottingham 42-37 in the sectional final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The section 2 Class AA champion Bethlehem after defeating Troy at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[1216,153,155,154,47172,1215,296,28584,726],"class_list":["post-150105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-alco","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-hs-basketball-girls","tag-latestnews","tag-local","tag-rensco","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}