SOMERS, N.Y. - After upsetting Croton-Harmon in the first round, the Tuskers took their show on the road to Hen Hud and again looked unfazed by unfamiliar surroundings. A 27-21 lead late in the third quarter had the ninth seed dreaming of a trip to the County Center, but the lofty perch quickly unraveled.
Hen Hud responded with a decisive 27-6 run, and Somers’ season came to an end with a 55-48 loss.
Somers came out firing. Ashley Kuchinsky opened with a three-pointer, Eli Contreras beat the press for a layup, and Caitlyn Mayfield scored inside off a crisp pass from Kuchinsky.
The duo connected again moments later. Moving well without the ball, Mayfield received another nifty feed in the paint, and a 9-4 lead had the Tuskers flashing confidence.
With 1:19 left in the first quarter, the Sailors made their move. Maria Ribeiro answered from beyond the arc, and Kate Stratton’s putback at the buzzer erased Somers’ early edge, sending the teams into the second quarter tied 9-9.
The back-and-forth continued. Mayfield, unfazed by tight baseline defense from Ribeiro, converted a reverse layup to put Somers back in front. Carleigh Ortiz answered with a steal at half court and a tying basket, but Mayfield countered again with a spinning move through the lane to restore a two-point lead.
Hen Hud then strung together seven straight points. Elyse Smith knocked down a three, Stratton shook off a double team for a short jumper, and Smith added a conventional three-point play through heavy traffic to give the Sailors an 18-13 advantage.
After a timeout, Shea Mullins made the most of the reset, burying a three-pointer with 3:24 left in the half.
Hen Hud continued to assert itself inside. Stratton hit a free throw after being fouled on a putback attempt and later blocked Contreras on a fast break. Still, Contreras kept her composure, beating the press again and finding Kuchinsky open on the right wing for her second straight three.
Defense carried Somers toward halftime. Emma Flores blocked Ribeiro’s breakaway layup, and Mayfield’s quick hands on the inbound created another possession. With 1:57 left, Mullins accelerated through the lane for a layup, pulling Somers within 21-20 at the break.
The third quarter opened with four minutes of missed shots and turnovers before Kuchinsky broke the drought. After a Mayfield steal, she calmly drained a three to reclaim the lead. Moments later, Mullins chased down a long rebound and pushed the ball ahead to Kuchinsky, who buried another three in front of the Somers bench to make it 27-21 and ignite the crowd.
Hen Hud quickly regrouped. Avery Motko answered with a three, and Smith attacked the rim, finishing through contact to cut the lead to one.
With eight minutes to play and the score 29-27, Stratton scored inside to spark the decisive run. Contreras briefly stopped the surge with a putback, but Smith powered through defenders for another three-point play, then drew a charge on the other end. Motko followed with a high-arching three that gave Hen Hud a 38-31 lead.
The Sailors’ advantage eventually grew to 14. After a missed free throw by Ortiz, the rebound found Ribeiro, who launched a deep three that dropped cleanly and felt like a dagger.
Somers continued to battle. Scrappy defense produced several steals, and baskets from Kuchinsky, Contreras and Mayfield trimmed the deficit to 47-40.
But with 57 seconds remaining, Hen Hud calmly converted its free throws to seal the game.
The resilience did not surprise coach Kevin Rogers.
“Believe — all they do is believe and play hard,” Rogers said.
The loss was still difficult to process, but Rogers emphasized the broader picture.
“Success isn’t just measured in wins and losses,” he said.
With five seniors graduating, Rogers praised their contributions while expressing optimism about the returning core.
“We’ve got a lot of good stuff to work with,” he said.
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