Colonie defeats Shenendehowa in Section 2 Class AAA girls' basketball semifinals

TROY - Chants of "MVP" rang out as Colonie sophomore Payton Rundell stepped to the free throw line with 1.5 seconds remaining in Monday's Section 2 Class AAA girls' basketball semifinal against Shenendehowa.

Sparked by a huge effort off the bench by Rundell, No. 2 Colonie slipped past No. 3 Shenendehowa 69-65 in an overtime thriller at Hudson Valley Community College.

"I say it all the time: Big players step up in big moments," Colonie coach Heather DiBiase said. "And, when we needed (Rundell) to, she did. She deserves the spotlight."

The teams entered overtime knotted at 56-56 after Shenendehowa senior Kate Milham drilled a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Wolf Pack trailed 64-63 with 1:20 left to play in the extra session, but Rundell knocked down a free throw to level the game at 64. She finished 4-for-6 from the line in the final minute of overtime and pulled down a defensive board on Shenendehowa's final shot attempt of the game.

"I'm just so grateful to be here in this moment," Rundell said. "(My teammates) support me and I'm just thankful that we get one more practice and one more game."

Shenendehowa scored the first seven points of the game and held Colonie to just two points in the first quarter as it built up a 14-2 lead.

"Basketball is a sport of ups and downs," Rundell said. "We're going to face adversity and it's about how you battle back and really step up to the challenge and overcome it."

Key moment

Shenendehowa had possession coming out of a timeout trailing 66-65 with 20 seconds remaining, but Rundell came up with a steal and was fouled immediately. She knocked down both free-throw attempts to push Colonie's lead to 68-65.

"I knew going out there that I had to work hard and that … if it took getting on the floor, if it took sacrificing my body to get that ball, that's what I was going to do," Rundell said. "I knew my teammates would be there to back me up and have that same mentality as well."

Star of the game

Rundell poured in a game-high 19 points and finished 7-for-10 from the free-throw line.

"Payton is our energy," DiBiase said. "Huge spark off the bench. She's been playing really, really well. Very confident. Defensively, she is strong, and offensively, she's making really good decisions and shooting the ball really well."

Numbers to know

21: Free throws Colonie knocked down in the game.

19:Games Shenendehowa had won in a row entering Monday.

16: Points Colonie senior Olivia Hoffman totaled.

What's next

Colonie: The Wolf Pack hope to capture their third consecutive sectional title at 12:45 p.m. Saturday at HVCC when they take on Shaker.

Shenendehowa: Shen wrapped up its season with a 19-3 record.

This article originally published at Colonie defeats Shenendehowa in Section 2 Class AAA girls' basketball semifinals.