I have a few random thoughts before diving into last night’s three semifinals. Take a seat. It’s gonna be a long post:

1. Three-person crews create tighter games. Beware to the stars the next three days, especially those who toil in the post. The advent of three-person officiating crews may lend to games being called closer. It already appears to have done just that. Take last night. Here are the players who were in quick foul trouble: North Salem’s Danielle Fiacco, Vicki Riefenhauser and Katherine Caley; Haldane’s Avery Zuvic; Valhalla’s Tamara Tribble and Dana Nucaro; Briarcliff’s Katie Weiner; and Nanuet’s K.C. Jentzen and Amy Delva. That’s nine of the 30 starters who played yesterday, and those are the nine I remember off the top of my head. I’m not saying the zebras were wrong; I’m just saying players may want to be careful. The foul woes definitely hurt Valhalla and North Salem in particular.

2. Crowds were good, but not great. I’m very interested in the crowds this week because Championship Week is kind of on probation. The all-girls day on Tuesday had decent crowds, with Briarcliff and Haldane bringing sizable and vocal student sections. Nanuet and North Salem, which typically bring large contingents, didn’t quite have the support I expected to see. North Salem students may’ve been hurt by the 4:15 start. I also suspect more Nanuet fans will turn out for Saturday’s final. As for the other B semi, expect big crowds for Dobbs and Irvington. Both schools will let students out early (about 40-45 minutes from what I’ve heard) and that should help fill the stands.

3. To Lourdes and Lakeland: Beware! Two No. 1 seeds fell yesterday and one No. 1 in the boys fell Monday. That’s 0-3 for the top seeds so far. Ouch.

OK, now let’s look back at last night…

Hamilton 44, North Salem 32. It wasn’t the fast-paced game I thought Hamilton needed to play but the result was the same nonetheless. The Raiders were still able to find baskets easier than North Salem, which at one point had one field goal over a 15-minute stretch. The Tigers problem was protecting the ball, but it was also even simpler:They just didn’t make baskets.

Hamilton made enough thanks to Shereen Lightbourne (right), who scored 24 points. She injured her ankle against North Salem 15 days ago and had been hobbled ever since. Rehab and rest helped, but Lightbourne still isn’t quite herself. She sat with coach Benji Carter and her dad, Les, a couple rows in front of me during the Haldane-Valhalla game with her ankle in ice. Lightbourne probably won’t do much between now and Saturday, and Hamilton will need every minute it can get from her. She just has a knack for getting things done. She’s very intelligent and understands how to play.

Hamilton will be good for awhile with Maia Hood (11 rebounds) and Ashanti Kennedy, not to mention a rotation that is deep around the big three. But will it already be the Raiders’ time this Saturday?

As for North Salem, it’s simple: The Tigers lost during the four or five minutes Danielle Fiacco sat on the bench with two fouls in the second quarter. It was a one-point game; by halftime they were down 12. I’m not sure North Salem would’ve won anyway, but, in hindsight, Fiacco’s absence and other foul trouble ended all hope. That stretch was decisive. John Lauro told my colleague Mike Dougherty he hoped to get to halftime down six points and have Fiacco fresh for the final two quarters.

Haldane 54, Valhalla 39. If you’re reading the score and wondering what I was thinking picking Valhalla, you probably didn’t see these teams meet in the regular season. As I said yesterday, the game wasn’t quite as close as the eight-point final margin suggested. I felt Valhalla was better, and I felt it would be better yesterday. Clearly, I was wrong. Haldane proved just how much it progressed. Its strong finish was particularly impressive because if left little unsaid. The Blue Devils were back in the final and left absolutely no doubt.

Liz Milner (left) took some time to get herself involved, but she made plays in the second half. Avery Zuvic, back after more first half foul trouble, found space inside to make a difference. The DesMarais sisters were aggressive on both sides of the ball. Victoria, who has gotten a lot fewer mentions here than Kristen, played the best I’d ever seen her play. Same for Holly Whiston, who competed hard inside against a strong Valhalla front line of Tamara Tribble and Dana Nucaro. Whiston’s efforts helped get both forwards into foul trouble.

What resulted was a balanced team. Sure, it’s not what we’re used to from Haldane, but its effectiveness is now abundantly clear.

On the other side, last night’s results broke the heart of Valhalla, which thought this year the gold ball was its trophy to win. Perhaps the outcome would’ve been different had Tribble and Nucaro stayed out of foul trouble, but as I said earlier the three-person crews made this a tightly-called game.

Nanuet 59, Briarcliff 38. I wish I had the tape of both coaches from after the game. Both were super-complimentary to one another. Carlos Fidalgo said Nanuet had to play its best four quarters of the season to beat a great team last night. “And let’s make no mistake,” he said. “They are a great team.” Don Hamlin, as he later noted in the comments section here, didn’t just point toward what was clearly a bad night for his Bears. Hamlin told me he prodded his team during timeouts to keep its composure but Nanuet wouldn’t allow it. “Nanuet made us uncomfortable,” Hamlin said. “They were the more confident team.” No one would argue that.

I was most impressed with how Nanuet kept its poise. There is no doubt in my mind (and in the mind of almost everyone I spoke with afterward) that the Golden Knights had command over the game even before Maggie Blair went down with a left knee injury with 3:51 remaining in the third quarter. The mood just felt different than when Briarcliff came from 15 or 16 down to beat them last month. The game wasn’t a shootout. The Bears weren’t playing at their usual high level. And Nanuet seemed to have all the stamina it needed for the finish. (Thanks, in part, to the return of Nikki Saponaro, who didn’t play last time but started and scored 13 points last night.)

“We just never turned the corner,” Hamlin said.

Blair came back on the first dead ball in the fourth quarter. She gave Briarcliff a momentary emotional lift, but Nanuet, in impressive fashion, never quaked. Fidalgo called timeout and the Golden Knights systematically continued to pull ahead. No one player did it. Lauren Kahn (above, right) and K.C. Jentzen were typically productive. But Saponaro hit a few shots and Christine Brezovsky threw a few sick passes. Everyone chipped in.

“That’s a testament to these girls,” Fidalgo said, gesturing toward his team. “They never pressed.”

What we will remember partly from last night was that Briarcliff lost. Nanuet will want its due, and it deserves it, but facts are facts: The Bears last lost a playoff game on Feb. 27, 2007. They had just three losses total since then, and were at one time this season the clear No. 1 team in the section, regardless of class. Injuries plagued them late in the year. Katie Weiner and Taylor Pescetti each had a bum ankle, and Blair’s knee locked up at the worst time. Her dad, Bob, told me she’d never been injured before. “I think I was scared more than anything,” Maggie told me later.

If Nanuet wants to remember last night for more than just knocking off a giant, it will need to win Saturday. Both Irvington and Dobbs will provide tough challenges, but I’m already leaning toward the Golden Knights. Not only did they knock off the queens, they had this within them all season. Perhaps it has surfaced for good.

This is a rematch of a regular season game, which was won 74-64 by Briarcliff after it trailed by 15 points in the first half.

The game will tip in a bit. You can watch it on Mogulus here.

Here are the starters:
BRIARCLIFF —
Maggie Blair, G/F, #15
Taylor Pescetti, G, #33
Savina Reid, G, #5
Kasey Heyda, F, #10
Katie Weiner, C, #24
NANUET —
Christine Brezovsky, G, #15
Lauren Kahn, G, #21
K.C. Jentzen, F, #25
Ryan Mulligan, F, #13
Amy Delva, C, #34

End of the 1st quarter: Nanuet 11, Briarcliff 10 — Christina Fitzgerald just banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Nanuet the lead. The Golden Knights are going to have to navigate through some foul trouble here, however. K.C. Jentzen and Amy Delva both have two fouls. Katie Weiner has two fouls also, so both frontcourts are minus plenty of talent. Let’s see how that changes things here.

5:21 left in the 2nd quarter: Nanuet 13, Briarcliff 13 — Weiner, Jentzen and Delva are all back on the floor.

2:15 left in the 2nd quarter: Nanuet 21, Briarcliff 15 — Quick 6-0 run by Nanuet behind two baskets from Jentzen forced a Briarcliff timeout. Earlier in the quarter, Nikki Saponaro, in her return to action, threw a long lead pass for an assist to Amy Delva.

HALFTIME: Nanuet 24, Briarcliff 15 — Strong 9-0 run to close the half for Nanuet. It broke open a 15-all game. K.C. Jentzen, playing with two fouls, scored seven of her nine points during the run. She also has six rebounds. Briarcliff has been plagued by turnovers. The Bears had 12 and were especially sloppy late in the half. Maggie Blair lead Briarcliff with five points. She also has three rebounds and two assists. Savina Reid added four points.

3:51 left in 3rd quarter: Nanuet 29, Briarcliff 19 — Maggie Blair just went down and was writing on the floor in pain. She just came to her feet after a few minutes on the court and a few people helped her over to the trainers table near the back exit. The Bears may have to rally from 10 points down without her. It doesn’t look good.

End of the 3rd quarter: Nanuet 32, Briarcliff 21 — Briarcliff shot 1 for 8 from the floor with Blair out of the lineup. She just returned to the bench and is now at the scorers table. They made need everything from her to win.

6:00 left in the 4th quarter: Nanuet 36, Briarcliff 27 — The game just turned a little more interesting. Taylor Pescetti scored five straight points for the Bears to force a Nanuet timeout. Blair returned to the lineup. She’s limited, but she’s playing.

FINAL: Nanuet 59, Briarcliff 38: The Golden Knights will meet Irvington or Dobbs at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday for the gold ball.

Question #1: At the beginning of the season I said Irvington could head into its first meeting with Pearl River undefeated. What did I say the Bulldogs’ record would be?

Remember: The first person to answer the question correctly wins two tickets to this week’s action at the County Center this week. Be sure to log on and post your answer in the comments section, but please use a valid e-mail address so we can contact you.

Valhalla-Haldane’s about to tip here at the County Center. The winner will face No. 2 Hamilton in Saturday’s Class C championship game at 2 p.m.

Here are the starters:
HALDANE —
Liz Milner, G/F, #31
Holly Whiston, F, #44
Avery Zuvic, C, #33
Kristen DesMarais, G, #20
Victoria DesMarais, G, #32
VALHALLA —
Tori McGuinn, G, #4
Kayla Haas, G/F, #5
Christina Mitatoronda, G, #10
Tamara Tribble, F, #12
Dana Nucaro, C, #34

End of the 1st quarter: Haldane leads 8-6 after one quarter. Avery Zuvic and Dana Nucaro both have two fouls, robbing each team of its starting center. Zuvic is back in the game but Nucaro is still on the bench.

Halftime: Valhalla 23, Haldane 18 — Tamara Tribble has 10 points and four rebounds for Valhalla, which outscored Haldane 17-10 in the second quarter. Laura Campbell, a sophomore, has given the Blue Devils a boost off the bench with six points. She’s hit two 3’s.

End of the 3rd quarter: Haldane has pulled back in front, 37-33. Victoria DesMarais and Kristen DesMarais each knocked down a 3 late in the quarter, Kristen to beat the buzzer.

5:08 left in the 4th quarter: Haldane leads 39-37. The Blue Devils trailed 27-18 after Tribble and McGuinn hit baskets to start the third quarter but they have outscored Valhalla 21-10 since.

FINAL: Haldane 54, Valhalla 39 — The Blue Devils had a terrific fourth quarter. They outscored Valhalla 17-7 to pull off the upset. Liz Milner scored 12 points. Victoria DesMarais scored 14, including eight in the fourth quarter. Tori McGuinn led Valhalla with 15 points.

This is a bit of a shocker after seeing the teams meet in the regular season. Valhalla led that one most of the way, but the tide turned midway through the third quarter.

Haldane will meet No. 2 Hamilton on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the Class C gold ball. The Blue Devils will aim for their 16th gold ball in 17 years.

Win free tickets to Championship Week at the County Center tonight at 7. Visit the blog here at 7 and I will post a trivia question that relates to an old post on The Sixth Man. Consider it like a scavenger hunt.

If you’re the first person to post a correct answer, you’ll get two free tickets to this week’s action. So we can get in contact with you, please post a valid e-mail address where I can reach you when you post your answer.

Don’t be late. Remember: The first right answer wins.

Girls basketball action at the County Center is about to get underway as Hamilton takes on North Salem for the third time this season. The teams split during the year, North Salem winning in January 46-43 and Hamilton winning 67-55 just a couple weeks ago.

I talked to both coaches briefly before the game. Shereen Lightbourne, the Hamilton star, injured her ankle in the last meeting. She has received treatment since then and Benji Carter pronounced her ready to go.

Here are the starters:
North Salem —
Danielle Fiacco, C, #25
Chrissy Scheniewitz, F, #30
Lauren Rodriguez, G, #4
Vicki Riefhauser, G, #10
Katherine Caly, G, #11
Hamilton —
Shereen LIghtbourne, G/F, #12
Ashley Morris, G, #3
Allison Janos, G, #4
Maia Hood, F, #15
Ashanti Kennedy, F, #20

More to come…

End of 1st quarter: The game is tied 8-8 after one quarter. The teams have been sloppy so far: seven turnovers for Hamilton and four for North Salem, which has also missed a bevy of shots in the paint. Shereen Lightbourne has four points to lead the Raiders and Chrissy Schenkewitz has four for North Salem.

6:44 to play, 2nd quarter: 10-8 North Salem. Remember you can watch the game live at VC Sports 1.

End of 2nd quarter: Hamilton leads 27-15 over North Salem at the half. The Raiders had just a one point lead, 15-14, when Danielle Fiacco went to the bench with two fouls. Hamilton went on a 12-1 run with Fiacco on the bench. Shereen Lightbourne led the way for Hamilton. She scored 11 of her 15 first half points in the second quarter. She also has three rebounds and three steals. Maia Hood, the Raiders’ eighth grader, has added six rebounds. Fiacco has led North Salem with six points, five rebounds and three blocks despite the foul trouble. The Tigers are also facing foul trouble with Vicki Riefhauser and Katherine Caly, who both have three.

End of the 3rd quarter: Hamilton has extended its lead to 15 points, 34-19. Shereen Lightbourne now has 17 points, scoring her only basket on a steal and layup just before the end of quarter.

FINAL: Hamilton 44, North Salem 32 — Shereen Lightbourne led the way with 24 points. Maia Hood added six points, 11 rebounds and three steals. Danielle Fiacco led North Salem with 11 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks.

Hamilton will meet the winner of Valhalla-Haldane at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Good news people! All 12 girls basketball games will be broadcast live this week on Mogulus, including updates on any relevant stats and info during the game.

The channel has changed from what you’re used to during the season. Now, the games — beginning today at 4:15 p.m. with North Salem-Hamilton — can be seen here on VC Sports 1.

All week we’ll write a daily story that takes you, the reader, behind the scenes at the County Center. I wrote a BTS for today’s paper on how Section 1 assigns officials to work games during Championship Week. I know it’s a process that fascinates — and infuriates — the public, so I suggest you give it a read here.

Here’s the cliff’s notes version:

— Rankings: Officials are rated during the season by coaches. (The girls officials also rate one another, and, according to Section 1 executive director Jennifer Simmons, the two ratings are given equal weight.)
— Index: The ratings are added together and divided by the total number of games worked. The result is an index.
— Order: The officials are then ranked top to bottom based on their indexes.

Now, there are several additional factors that determine who works a game. Like…

— Availability: some officials work college or Catholic school games during Championship Week and are unavailable on certain days
— Continuity: officials cannot work twice in the same round and cannot cover the same team twice in a row (Official A can cover just one semifinal and one final, and the games can’t be in the same Class)
— Potential bias: For example, Nanuet AD Frank Mazzuca (above right), a top boys official, doesn’t work Class B games because his school is in Class B
— Non-preferred: This is a big factor; coaches select three officials before the playoffs start and submit them to BOCES; those three officials will not work his or her team’s games
— Qualifications: BOCES requires officials work a minimum of 40 percent of the schedule to qualify to work in the playoffs (in basketball that would be eight games), but the boys and girls basketball associations have upped that number to 12
— Balance: Westchester/Putnam, Dutchess and Rockland all have difference organization; to ensure fairness and balance, BOCES assigns officials from different organizations to work all playoff games; for example, Lourdes-Ossining will have two Dutchess officials working with one Westchester official, with Dutchess providing the extra body because it is the higher seed

The last factor has become important this year because both the boys and girls will use three officials for the first time ever this season. Some of you have called for that change for some time, and it was implemented, according to Simmons, last April.

Anyway, if anyone has additional questions please fire away. I think I have a pretty good understanding of how the selection process works.

Proof positive that the County Center is a basketball vacuum: I had no idea until now that Sophia Aleksandravicius and Alexandra Osborn-Jones hit important scoring marks last night. Both did just that in the quarterfinals of the Fairchester playoffs.

Aleksandravicius scored 33 points and had 17 rebounds and six blocks in No. 2 Holy Child’s 62-57 win over St. Luke’s. She tabbed point No. 1,000 of her career in the win, putting her in rarefied air among seniors. Only Woodlands’ Porsha Postell has more.

Stephanie Taylor added 10 points and Molly Schauber 13 boards.

“It was just really nice to pull that off and get the win,” Aleksandravicius told The Journal News. “Reaching this milestone and losing would have been horrible, so it was nice to celebrate having both.”

The Gryphons host No. 3 Hamden Hall in tomorrow’s 4:30 p.m. semifinal.

Osborn-Jones, a junior pictured right, scored 18 points, including No. 1,000 of her career. More importantly, she became the first Rye Country Day basketball player — girl or boy — to score 1,000 varsity points in last night’s 49-32 win over visiting Greens Farms.

The Wildcats had pretty balanced scoring. Carolyn Binder scored nine points and Veronica Roman (the older sister of Sophia from White Plains) and Dani Gold added eight apiece.

RCDS will host a semifinal tomorrow against No. 4 Greenwich Academy.

“It’s definitely sweet to set the record because I feel like I’ve proven myself over the years,” she said, “but I honestly didn’t think I would set it this year.”

With OJ having many games ahead of her, both she and Aleksandravicius will finish their varsity careers as the all-time leading scorers in program history by a wide margin. Both are already there, and Aleksandravicius has more than a 400-point lead already. OJ’s margin may be even wider before she is done.

CLASS C
NO. 2 HAMILTON vs. NO. 3 NORTH SALEM, today, 4:15 p.m.: The teams met twice during the regular season, splitting the meetings (46-43 North Salem on Jan. 11 and 67-55 Hamilton on Feb. 9). The momentum swung in both games in the third quarter, so watch out for what happens after halftime today. North Salem obviously has a big presence inside with Danielle Fiacco and Chrissy Schenkewitz, but the Tigers have struggled to stop Shereen Lightbourne. She has averaged 21 PPG in the two meetings. Lightbourne has the most experience in this building and is tall and athletic enough to get shots off near the basket.  Still, she’ll need help on the glass and on defense from Maia Hood and Ashanti Kennedy, who can be effective against North Salem by running the floor. I believe the same type of transition game that led to a 67-point outburst just two weeks ago can spur the Raiders to victory here, too. Prediction: Hamilton 66, North Salem 58
NO. 1 VALHALLA vs. NO. 4 HALDANE, tonight, 6 p.m.: I made this mistake a couple times in recent days, so let me correct it here — Valhalla is 1-0 this season vs. Haldane, not 2-0 as I had originally said. The Vikings beat the Blue Devils 46-38 on Jan. 12 behind 15 points from Tori McGuinn. They won by just eight but appeared to be in command throughout, at least by my recollection. Haldane played much of the evening without center Avery Zuvic, who was in foul trouble, but it struggled protecting the ball against Valhalla’s D. The Vikings were more formidable on the inside with Dana Nucaro and Tamara Tribble, and Kayla Haas, Christina Mitatoronda and Jade Fumarelli pressured the ball, forcing turnover after turnover. Expect this game to be different all around. Both teams played their best ball in the second half of the season. Valhalla has won 11 straight. Haldane has won five of six. The Blue Devils are a more balanced team then they were then, with Kristen Desmarais among those helping Zuvic and the versatile Liz Milner. Bottom line: I’m sure the Vikings want revenge after last year at the County Center and I expect them to earn it. They have an experienced group that’s plenty good enough to end Haldane’s defense of the Class C state championship. It could be close though. Prediction: Valhalla 54, Haldane 50

CLASS B
NO. 1 BRIARCLIFF vs. NO. 5 NANUET, tonight, 7:45 p.m.: This is your classic rematch. Nanuet completely dominated the first half, then let a 14-point halftime lead disappear, thanks in part to Briarcliff’s 29-point fourth quarter. For the Bears, it was the type of flourish that reminded me just how they won the Class B state title. Big shots. No fear. But Nanuet isn’t necessarily the type of team who will quiver at the mere sight of Briarclifff. The Golden Knights are aggressive. Lauren Kahn, Ryan Mulligan and Christine Brezovsky make their own opportunities, and will try to create a few from tipoff. Can they? Yes, and K.C. Jentzen and Amy Delva will finish them. But can the team sustain it? I don’t expect so, not against Briarcliff. The Bears are deeper and more balanced. They can shoot it with Taylor Pescetti, Maggie Blair and Brianna Reid. They can run with the Reids and Pescetti and they can slow it down with five 6-footers in Katie Weiner, Blair, Lianna Cornacchio, Sam Muratori and Kathryn Holland. Those strengths will help them no matter how the game plays out, especially on the big open court of the County Center. Prediction: Briarcliff 61, Nanuet 54
NO. 2 IRVINGTON vs. NO. DOBBS FERRY, tomorrow, 3 p.m.: Fans from both sides have cried foul ever since they learned this semifinal between Rt. 9 neighbors would be a matinee. I don’t blame them because it has terrific potential. The schools support their teams. Just ask Putnam Valley and Albertus Magnus about Irvington, which packed its gym with green-clad fans for its last two games. That said, I don’t believe the crowds will change the outcome. It’ll be decided by styles. Dobbs can run, but it’d prefer to slow down the pace and feed Jackie Giuliano in the post. That’s the Eagles’ advantage. Giuliano also does a terrific job feeding shooters like Ashley Riefenhauser and Kristin Ritch when the defense collapses. Lisa Tessitore and Chrissy Capelli work hard to sustain their possessions and shut down the opposition in the half court. On the flip side, Irvington prefers to push the ball and spread the floor. Riley Harrington and Lisa Bucci run, either shooting jumpers or feeding the likes of Tara Gabelman and Marley Giddens. One style should win out, but which one remains to be seen. Irvington beat Dobbs Ferry by 14 points, but it was a one possession game in the fourth quarter. If Dobbs is close — and the Eagles are the underdog — can it finish? Can Irvington finally break through and win its first semifinal game at the County Center? One team will reach its goal of playing in Saturday’s final. One day away, I’d give the Bulldogs and their run ‘n gun the edge. Prediction: Irvington 60, Dobbs Ferry 57