NT Lady Jacks Capture AA Crown

Jakayla Brown will stay close to home and play college volleyball next year at Niagara University. Brown, a 6-2 senior, says basketball isn’t her sport. But try telling that to the girls at Williamsville East.

Brown dominated in the post on Wednesday, scoring a career-high 23 points as North Tonawanda beat Will East, 73-52, in the Section VI Class AA championship game at Buffalo State. NT, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class AA, will take on the Section V winner in the regional crossover on March 13 at Finger Lakes Community College.

Lily Day scored 16 points and sister Annabelle Day14 as the Lady Jacks, who went to an independent schedule this season, won the first sectional championship in school history under first-year head coach Ryan Bradt.

“They spoil me,” Bradt said. “They’re a really good group. I got lucky. I walked into a really good situation, a great group of kids. They were here (in the sectional final) last year. So they finished the business they had last year. It was another team effort. Jakayla was phenomenal. She carried us down low.”

Senior Julie Cruz, the top scorer in the section, scored 33 points to keep the Flames in striking range. But Brown matched her in the third quarter, scoring 10 of her points as NT stayed in control. Brown, fully recovered from an ankle injury that sidelined her earlier in the year, added 11 rebounds and blocked or altered at least half a dozen shots against a smaller Will East team.

“I knew I had a height advantage, so I just did my job,” Brown said. “I just played, honestly. I just had a game. I feel like I needed a rest (after the injury) because I’ve been playing on it for four years straight. So after the injury I just felt like it’s a brand-new ankle.”

Annabelle Day, who averages 20 points a game, was more of a floor leader on Wednesday. She had 14 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, consistently breaking down the Flames’ defense and finding Brown in the post. A year ago, Day played with a bad foot in NT’s loss to Starpoint in the final. She was determined to bring a long-awaited sectional title to NT in her senior season.

“It feels amazing,” said Day, who will play at UB next season. “We’ve wanted this. We’ve all grown up playing together. We’re all like sisters. We go to school together, our families are all connected. It’s like one big family. We really wanted this for our city. There’s so many fans and people cheering us on. But this is just the first goal. We still have our big goal to reach at states.”

Day played two seasons at Cardinal O’Hara with her older sister, but came home to NT last season to play with younger sister Lily, who is also a Division I prospect. Having led NT to its first sectional crown, they’ll chase a state championship. They’ve already beaten two of their possible crossover opponents — Penfield and Pittsford Sutherland — this season.

The Lady Jacks are 20-3, with losses to Frewsburg, St. Mary’s and Cathedral Prep. They came in ranked No. 1 in the state, so you could make the case that they’re favored to go all the way. After three wins by 20-plus points in the Section VI playoffs, they seemed primed for a big run.

“We’re right there, so we might as well keep going, keep pushing every game,” Day said. “Honestly, rankings mean nothing. Rankings don’t matter if we don’t reach our big goal.”

Image Courtesy of Section 6 Girls Twitter