Wanzer, Tigers Repeat As Class A-2 Sectional Champs

Every year, lots of high school seniors tearfully walk away from Buffalo State College for the final time without a Section VI championship.

Not Ella Wanzer. The Amherst High School standout already has two. And she’s just a freshman.

Wanzer matched a career-high with 26 points on Sunday evening and led the Tigers to a 64-44 win over Iroquois in the Class A-2 championship game at Buffalo State College’s Sports Arena.

This is an amazing experience to come in as a freshman and have two years of sectional championships under my belt,” she said. “It’s all because of my team. We work really hard during practice. Everyone has great chemistry. It’s just a great team.”

The sectional title is the second in a row for Wanzer and the Tigers, who picked up their sixth straight win. That sets up a third meeting with Main Street rival Williamsville South on Wednesday for the overall Class A title.

The two teams met twice in the regular season and the Billies won both by double-figures. But last season, South also swept Amherst in the regular season but the Tigers got it done when it mattered most in the Class A final.

This year is a little different against a Billies team that hasn’t been challenged by a Section VI team this season.

“I think we understand that they’re on a mission,” Amherst coach Mike Chatelle said. “So we understand that’s been their goal all season long right from the beginning. So we have to make sure we stand up to the challenge.”

The second-seeded Tigers led for most of Sunday’s A-1 final but the No. 4 seed Chiefs made it interesting late in the third, closing to within seven late in the third quarter. But a bucket by Leah Shutts and then a three-point play by fourth-year senior center Hannah Bardeen in the final 20 seconds of the third ignited a 22-5 run for Amherst that blew the game open.

“I think it’s something they wanted to accomplish,” Chatelle said. “We still know that there are some other goals ahead that we were shooting for. We know it won’t be easy. I don’t think the trip through this has really been that easy, so we’re going to have to continue to get better. South is pretty darn good.”

Shutts scored 12 points and Emma Klein for the Tigers.

Iroquois was led freshman Emily McLaughlin’s 15 points. Senior tri-captain Taylor Quinn scored 12 for the Chiefs (19-4). After upsetting top-seed and nearby rival East Aurora in the semifinals, Iroquois had visions of a title. But the experienced Tigers proved to be too much.

“They shot well and they probably took 30 more shots than we did,” Iroquois coach Steve Sokolski said. “They’re a good team, they’re fast, they can shoot, they can jump, they can rebound and we turned the ball over too many times.

But it was an excellent season for us to get to the Big House. That’s what we call it here and hopefully we can get back next year.”