Ë®¹ûÅÉAV

Yet it was the Wolves that departed the court, aghast at the sudden end of their season. 

Union Springs' season culminated in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Delaware Academy's Libby Lamport, a corner swish from distance that cemented a 41-38 final score in the Section IV Class C semifinal Tuesday at SUNY Cortland.

Trailing the near entirety of the game, Union Springs finally tied the score with 57 seconds left on Danielle Waldron's (12 points) three-point play. After Delaware Academy failed to convert on the ensuing possession, the Wolves had the ball with an opportunity to cash in a winning basket. 

For a moment, fortune finally seemed to favor the Wolves. However, a missed field goal attempt with 13 seconds to go flipped the odds back in the Bulldogs' favor. 

Ultimately, Delaware Academy had the winning card. 

"I felt the momentum, but we came up short on that last possession," Union Springs coach Andy Kalet said. "It was like a slow train, picking up speed. But we couldn't quite get over the hump."

Tied at 38, 30 seconds to go, 25 seconds on the shot clock. While the Wolves owned the ball, the situation offered a challenging predicament. A hurried shot attempt could provide Delaware Academy with ample time to organize an offensive play, while too much patience could waste an open look. 

Ultimately, the Wolves had a clear lane to the basket and took it. The seas parted for Kailey Kalet (11 points) with about 17 seconds left. As she drove, however, a Bulldogs defender swatted at the ball and forced an awkward shot and miss. 

"Their defense was tough," coach Kalet said."We could not get it rolling really. We ended up with 38 points, by far our lowest of the season. We averaged 61. They got us out of sorts a little bit. 

Kalet called the final shot, "a pretty darn good look and it didn't go."

Delaware Academy ended the first, third and fourth with buzzer-beating field goals. The first and fourth, both 3s, were the result of similar plays.

Both times, a Bulldogs guard drove down the center. When a Union Springs defender took a false step toward the middle, Delhi kicked the ball to an open teammate in the left corner.

Cadence Wakin hit the shot to end the first quarter. Lamport hit the shot to end the game.

"We've gotta lock down and play. I thought we played it right to the buzzer, but they executed with minimal time left," Kalet said. 

The Wolves are losing one senior and will return much of the same core in 2022-23. But next year's seniors will face an unfamiliar position: finality.

Three seasons ago, Union Springs advanced to the section finals as a No. 4 seed, with several freshmen playing key roles. While the surprise Wolves lost in the final, the team had the look of an inevitable section champion.

Fast forward two years — 2020-21 was shortened and the postseason wiped out due to COVID-19, while the 2021-22 season ends short of the title game.

Next season could be the last crack at a championship with this cast, and Kalet admits there will be some pressure on the veteran-laden group that will have at least six seniors including his daughter Kailey, Waldron and Gilbert.

But the most pressure, he says, is on the head coach, not the players who ascended the team to new heights. This season, achievements included the first Cayuga County tournament championship in 18 years and first league title ever.

"I don't have to knock these kids down. The pressure will be there, but I'll let them know to be them. If they are themselves, they're gonna succeed in life and that's what it's all about," Kalet said. "These kids have so far exceeded expectations. They had goals at the beginning of the season and they met them. I'm gonna keep pumping them up and we're just gonna start working."