I wrote a story today about the relationship between K.C. Jentzen and Lauren Kahn. The Nanuet stars have played together since they were in fourth grade and have been teammates and close friends ever since.

Obviously, Jentzen and Kahn have helped lead Nanuet to a state title, but they’ve pretty much been side by side every step of the way. They were CYO teammates who won three state titles. They were AAU teammates. They were key players as freshmen on a team that went through growing pains. They were sophomores asked to carry the load. They lived through the disappointment of an abrupt ending to last season. Now they’ve won a state title together, too. Even in conversations about Nanuet they always seem to be linked despite being very different players.

Anyway, I just wanted to pass along a link to the story. You can read it on our girls hoops page.

Jentzen and Kahn are back in action tomorrow at 11:45 a.m. in the state Federation semis at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Note: This post was written in advance. I will be out of the office on Mar. 25 and 26. If you have questions, concerns or corrections, please e-mail them to either Mark Teirstein at mteirste@lohud.com or jhumenn@lohud.com. I will return on Mar. 27.

I have posted a new poll to the right…

The question: Who was Section 1’s MVP this season?

I included several options, including many of the best players in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Dutchess. If there’s someone else you want to vote for, feel free to add her name to the list.

Vote away!

Note: This post was written in advance. I will be out of the office on Mar. 25 and 26. If you have questions, concerns or corrections, please e-mail them to either Mark Teirstein at mteirste@lohud.com or jhumenn@lohud.com. I will return on Mar. 27.

After some searching, it seems like there’s a decent amount of information out there about Mount Mercy, the CHSAA school in Buffalo that Nanuet will meet Friday morning in the Federation tournament semis.

Mount Mercy beat two teams with local ties en route to its state title. It beat Good Counsel of White Plains 55-21 in the state quarters. It later knocked off Aquinas of the Bronx 44-35 in the final. (Aquinas is an almost annual opponent for Maria Regina and Victory. It lost to both of them this season.)

Anyway, for a complete record of Mount Mercy’s season, you can check the school website here.

The school website also has a recap of the championship game against Aquinas.

For more recaps of Mount Mercy from during the season, you can check out the Buffalo News website. I performed a search for Mount Mercy stories. Feel free to peruse through those stories here.

It appears the Magic (that’s Mount Mercy’s nickname) has a top scorer in Melissa Graham. It also has size in 6-foot Meg Recktenwald and experience, with nine seniors. (Graham and Recktenwald are both seniors.)

Aside from personnel, it sounds like Nanuet plays a different style. Mount Mercy likes to play at a slower pace. Nanuet has shown an ability to play either way, slow or fast, but I’d expect the Golden Knights to have success pressuring any team that tries to steady the pace.

I just spoke to Tori Jarosz. The Lakeland star gave her verbal to play ball at Vanderbilt this afternoon.

Jarosz, who averaged 21.5 PPG, 12.4 RPG and 7.6 BPG as a junior, faced a tough decision. She had a number of options — DePaul, Michigan, Ohio State, West Virginia, Notre Dame and Marist, to name a few — but it turned out to be less difficult than she expected. It was just a bit grueling.

Jarosz went to Vandy in January and fell in love with the place. She had the opportunity to visit there while recovering from her back injury, and planned to take more visits after the season. She visited quite a number of schools, but had yet to swing through the midwest schools on her list, like Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan. She eventually began to reconsider. “I visited there and knew I didn’t want to visit any other schools,” Jarosz said. “I fell in love with it.”

The feeling was mutual. Head coach Melanie Balcomb finally caught Jarosz in person for the first time when Lakeland beat Pearl River at the County Center. You may remember her seated on the baseline, front row, under the basket on the stage-side of the court. And what a game to catch — 33 points, 18 boards and eight blocks later, Jarosz had been added to Vandy’s must-have list.

Jarosz alerted a delighted Balcomb of her decision this afternoon. She, a few teammates and Steve Fallo called the coach at home via conference call. She just returned at 4 a.m. after No. 4 Vandy, which at 24-8, is ranked No. 14 in the country, knocked off No. 5 Kansas State to book itself a trip to the Sweet 16.

“It was a big weight lifted off my shoulders,” Jarosz said.

For more thoughts from Jarosz, check out my story in tomorrow’s paper. You’ll be able to find it online on our girls hoops page.

Section 1 cut back on the number of players honored as all-section this school year and that goes for all sports, at least to the best of my knowledge. Last year there were 73 players honored total; this year it’s 66, 35 all-section and 31 honorable mention.

The all-academic team and the Isabel Costa Award winners will be announced at next week’s all-section dinner.

Anyway, here’s the list of all-section honorees, as well as each league’s coach of the year:

LEAGUE 1-A: Patrice Wallace-Moore, Mount Vernon (coach)
Shanyce Stewart, Jr., Mount Vernon
Shelby Sferra, Sr., Ursuline
Taylor Palmer, Jr., Mount Vernon
Chelsea LoBue, Jr., Scarsdale
Honorable mention: Fayola Moise, Sr., Mamaroneck; Shannon Ray, Jr., Ursuline; Aysha Williams, Sr., New Rochelle; Danielle Feigin, Jr., Scarsdale; Tatiana Lewin, Jr., Mount Vernon; Kerry Ryan, Sr., Scarsdale.

LEAGUE 1-B: Bill Nolan, Suffern (coach)
Kristin Schmidt, Jr., Suffern
Honorable mention: Julie Jefferson, Jr., Suffern; Jameisha Parker, Jr., Ramapo; Amanda Babcock, Sr., North Rockland; Christa Baccas, So., Suffern.

LEAGUE 1-C: Dan O’Hare, Carmel (coach)
Caitlynn Moran, Sr., John Jay-East Fishkill
Brittany Horne, So., Carmel
Briana Jones, Sr., Ketcham
Gillian Felix, Sr., Mahopac
Honorable mention: Jessie Kavana, Sr., Mahopac; Marie Mullen, Jr., Carmel; Emmalee Dolfi, Sr., Arlington.

LEAGUE 1-D: Jennifer Batchelor, Gorton (coach)
Jessica Negron, Jr., Saunders

LEAGUE 2-NORTH: Benny Martucci, Hen Hud (coach)
Kara Tancredi, Sr., Beacon
Teneka Whittaker, So., Lourdes
Alex Venuto, Jr., Ossining
Kim Dweck, Sr., Lourdes
Hayley Awerdick, Jr., Ossining
Rachel Crittenden, Sr., Lourdes
Honorable mention: Molly Dahl, Sr., Panas; Asia Jackson, Fr., Peekskill; Sareeta Nethersole, So., Hen Hud.

LEAGUE 2-CENTRAL: Doris Schukin, Brewster (coach)
Tori Jarosz, Jr., Lakeland
Devon Quattrocchi, Sr., Brewster
Honorable mention: Emily Tapio, So., Brewster; Raegan Knox, Fr., John Jay; Kerry Johnson, Sr., Lakeland.

LEAGUE 2-SOUTH: Darren Shepard, Nyack (coach)
Rachel McNair, So., Nyack
Megan Curran, So., Tappan Zee
Honorable mention: Jacqueline Pollack, Jr., Tappan Zee; Shakiera Dumas, Sr., Spring Valley; Caroline Chesterman, Sr., Nyack.

LEAGUE 3-A: Sean Mayer, Westlake (coach)
Maggie Blair, Sr., Briarcliff
Taylor Pescetti, Sr., Briarcliff
Honorable mention: Nicole Scott, Sr., Putnam Valley; Katie Weiner, Jr., Briarcliff

LEAGUE 3-B: ???
Porsha Postell, Sr., Woodlands
Honorable mention: Lillian McCabe, So., Rye

LEAGUE 3-C: Joe McGuinness, Albertus Magnus (coach)
Alaina Walker, Sr., Albertus Magnus
Taylor Wilson, Sr., Pearl River
Lauren Kahn, Jr., Nanuet
Tara Gabelman, Jr., Irvington
K.C. Jentzen, Jr., Nanuet
Kelly Mulligan, Jr., Pearl River
Riley Harrington, Jr., Irvington
Felicia DaCruz, So., Albertus Magnus
Honorable mention: Maura Power, Sr., Albertus Magnus; Gillian Morley, Sr., Irvington; Christine Brezovsky, Sr., Nanuet; Christa Scognamiglio, Fr., Pearl River.

LEAGUE 4-NORTH: Kenny Haskins, Haldane (coach)
Margo Hackett, So., Pawling
Liz Milner, So., Haldane

LEAGUE 4-CENTRAL: Rich Austin, Valhalla (coach)
Honorable mention: Dana Nucaro, Sr., Valhalla; Tamara Tribble, Jr., Valhalla.

LEAGUE 4-SOUTH: Erik Bartell, Dobbs Ferry (coach)
Jackie Giuliano, Jr., Dobbs Ferry
Shereen Lightbourne, Sr., Hamilton
Honorable mention: Katrina Blackman, Sr., Tuckahoe; Kristin Ritch, Sr., Dobbs Ferry.

We have a whole new group of Gamefaces up this week on our Gameday Central blog. You can find them and vote here.

Lots of girls basketball flavor here, so vote away!

Below is the complete schedule for this weekend’s state Federation tournament. Here is the code for the four different federations included:

NYSPHSAA — state public school federation
PSAL — New York City public school federation
CHSAA — Catholic school federation
NYSPISAA — independent school champion

(All games to be played at the Glens Falls Civic Center)

FRIDAY —
Class B semifinal: Layfayette Education Complex (Brooklyn)-PSAL vs. Long Island Lutheran-NYSAISAA, 10 a.m.
Class B semifinal: Nanuet-NYSPHSAA vs. Mount Mercy (Buffalo)-CHSAA, 11:45 a.m.
Class A semifinal: Newark-NYSPHSAA vs. Kellenberg-CHSAA, 1:30 p.m.

SATURDAY —
Class B championship: Nanuet/Mount Mercy vs. Layfayette/Long Island Lutheran, 10:30 a.m.
Class A championship: Newark/Kellenberg vs. Baruch College Campus (PSAL), 12:15 p.m.
Class AA semifinal: St. Michael Academy-CHSAA vs. Copiague-NYSPHSAA, 2 p.m.

SUNDAY —
Class AA championship: St. Michael Academy/Copaigue vs. Murry Bergtraum-PSAL, 12 p.m.

Ticket info: Tickets are $10 per day. They are on sale now at the Glens Falls Civic Center box office or online at TicketMaster.

Nanuet will meet Mount Mercy, a CHSAA school from Buffalo. The game will be played at the Glens Falls Civic Center at 11:45 a.m. on Friday.

Here’s what MaxPreps has on Mount Mercy.

6:05 p.m.: I’m writing my story about the Nanuet game at the moment but the gym here is slowly seeing people trickle in.

I stopped by and chatted briefly with Joe McGuinness and Meghan Richards. McGuinness said both Richards (neck) and Alaina Walker (shoulder) are fine. Richards was waiting for treatment at the time.

The game will get underway in about 55 minutes. Remember: You can watch the action LIVE on Mogulus here.

7:11 p.m.: Magnus trails 16-11 with 2:21 left in the quarter but Alaina Walker just picked up her second foul. Newark had scored and then Alyssa Fenyn stole an inbound pass immediately from Meghan Richards, hit a basket and was fouled by Walker. Magnus will have to keep it close with Walker on the bench.

7:18 p.m.: Newark leads 22-12 early in the second quarter. Walker is still on the bench and Theresa Miller just picked up her second foul. Fenyn has 11 points.

7:25 p.m.: Newark leads 29-18 with 3:45 left. Walker is still on the bench, but Magnus has done its best to hang in.

7:28 p.m.: Walker is back in and just scored. 31-20.

7:31 p.m.: Newark leads 38-22 at the half after Kira Lauer hit a 3 at the buzzer. Fenyn has been all over the court. She has 19 points already and has made nine baskets. She has been all over the place and already has 19 points.

Walker sat out for nine minutes. She returned to score four points, but her time on the bench may have cost the Falcons any shot at winning.

7:55 p.m.: Wow. Alyssa Fenyn, who had 20 points and nine boards in the first half, picked up her third foul and sat for about 90 seconds. She came back and Walker, playing as hard as ever, just charged to the basket and drew Fenyn’s fourth foul. She’s on the bench now and the Falcons trail 43-37 with 3:58 left in the third quarter. This is a whole new game.

7:58 p.m.: Shakista Woolfolk just scored five quick points for Newark, which now leads 48-39 with 2:51 left in the quarter. Magnus called a 30-second timeout.

8:06 p.m.: 51-41 Newark after three quarters. Fenyn stayed on the bench but Magnus couldn’t cut into its deficit. In fact, the Lady Reds tacked four points on its lead. Marissa Bunce, Newark’s shooter, just made a big 3 with 12 seconds left in the half to push it to 10. … Walker scored nine in the quarter and has 19 for the game. Maura Power also drained a big 3 during the quarter and Meghan Richards had a three-point play.

8:11 p.m.: Kerry Higgins had a three-point play and Walker scored another basket to cut it to five, 51-46. Fenyn is back in, which I think is a risk up five with 7:03 left.

8:15 p.m.: Timeout Magnus. It has the ball with 4:53 left down 55-48.

8:24 p.m.: Newark leads 63-57 with 2:30 to play. Magnus is close, but it can’t quite get close enough.

8:26 p.m.: Fenyn just fouled out on a drive to the hoop by DaCruz. Magnus trails 65-59 with 1:50 left.

8:28 p.m.: 66-59. Walker now has four.

8:30 p.m.: 19-footer by DaCruz. It’s 68-64 with 50.8 left.

8:35 p.m.: 73-68 Newark with 13.9 left. The Lady Reds have made 14 of 16 FT in the fourth. Maura Power had a 3 to cut it to two with about 30 seconds left. She missed. Walker rebounded and missed, then rebounded and missed again.

8:38 p.m.: Newark wins 75-68 (EDITED: 9:40 p.m.). It won its first state championship in program history. Fenyn finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Walker had 31 and 14 rebounds for Magnus.

8:44 p.m.: All-tournament — Maura Power and Kira Lauer of Newark won the sportsmanship award.

Nicole Adach, Mohonasen
Felicia DaCruz, Magnus
Alaina Walker, Magnus
Shakista Woolfork, Newark
Alyssa Fenyn, Newark (MVP)

9:53 p.m.: FINAL STATS —

Albertus Magnus: 25-61 FG; 3-13 3FG; 15-22 FT; 31 RB; 20 fouls; 5 steals; 7 assists; 15 turnovers

Alaina Walker 31 points (12 of 25 FG; 7 of 10 FT), 14 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists
Maura Power 8 points, 2 rebounds (2 of 6 3FG)
Felicia DaCruz 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists (5 for 9 FG)
Kerry Higgins 3 points, 3 rebounds
Theresa Miller 0 points, 1 rebound
Katelyn Spicer 6 points, 3 rebounds
Meghan Richards 3 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists

Newark: 26-52 FG; 3-6 3FG; 20-26 FT; 31 RB; 18 fouls; 9 steals; 6 assists; 17 turnovers

Sarah Tanea 3 points, 2 rebounds
Alyssa Fenyn 29 points (11-16 FG; 7-11 FT), 10 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 assist
Marissa Bunce 12 points (6-6 FT), 3 rebounds, 4 steals
Heather Virts 4 points, 2 rebounds
Shakista Woolfolk 24 points, 12 rebounds
Kira Lauer 3 points, 2 rebounds
Sabrina McCaulay 0 points

3:55 p.m.: The game got underway a little bit early. It’s 2-2 with 3:21 left in the first quarter. Remember: You can watch the game live on Mogulus.

3:59 p.m.: Timeout Nanuet. 4-2 Oneonta. The Yellowjackets are very big and they are good.

4:03 p.m.: Nanuet is really starting to pressure Oneonta and it’s working. The Yellowjackets are bigger but they aren’t as quick. So behind a 6-0 rally in the final 1:27, Nanuet leads 8-4 after one quarter. … Nikki Saponaro ended a six-plus minute drought for the Golden Knights with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Shots, however, are hard to come by against Oneonta’s 2-3 zone.

4:09 p.m.: Nanuet is up 11-6 with 5:57 left in the second quarter. Oneonta just called timeout. Looks like the Golden Knights are in an aggressive 3-2 zone. It’s similar to what they used yesterday.

4:13 p.m.: Nanuet is ahead 17-11 with 3:16 left in the half.

4:20 p.m.: Nanuet leads 17-16 at the half. Sienna Wisse scored five points in the final 1:05 to cut it close going into the break. Lauren Kahn leads the Golden Knights with eight points. She, K.C. Jentzen (5) and Nikki Saponaro (4) have all the points for Nanuet. Saponaro has also done a great job on Oneonta leading scorer Madie Harlem, who has just one 3-pointer for three points all half. Nanuet is really switching up its D to generate pressure because it is having trouble getting open looks against Oneonta’s 2-3 zone.

4:29 p.m.: HALFTIME STATS — Not a lot to offer in the way of stats. Oneonta is 5-13 in the first half, while Nanueet was 5 for 11. Nanuet has eight turnovers and Oneonta has 11.

4:37 p.m.: Nanuet leads 26-21 with 2:57 left. Big third quarter for Christine Brezovsky, who has made three jumpers for seven points. She hit a crucial 3-pointer before just before the shot clock expired.

4:40 p.m.: Nanuet leads 27-23. Big contingent here from Oneonta but Nanueet’s solid defense is helping keep it quiet.

4:42 p.m.: Big stretch here. Both Kahn and Saponaro are on the bench here with three fouls. I’d assume they’ll sit for the final 1:01 of the third quarter, giving Oneonta ample opportunity to work against a defense minus its two most aggressive players.

4:44 p.m.: Nanuet takes a 27-26 lead into the third quarter. Madie Harlem hit a 3 with 37 seconds left in the quarter.

4:48 p.m.: Nanuet leads 32-26 with 6:07 left in the fourth quarter. Kahn hit a free throw, followed by baskets by Ryan Mulligan and Jentzen. Mulligan just picked up a couple steals, providing the team some perfect support with Brezovsky and Saponaro on the bench at the moment.

4:52 p.m.: Harlem just knocked down a jumper to cut it to four. Oneonta immediately called a timeout. There’s 4:45 left.

4:55 p.m.: Harlem just hit another jumper. A minute later — after a couple dead possessions for both teams — Nanuet called timeout. The Golden Knights are clinging to a two-point lead with 2:13 left. Oneonta ball.

4:48 p.m.: What a minute! Wisse hit a 3 late in the shot clock for Oneonta, which took a one-point lead. Jentzen then grabbed an offense rebound and scored a putback to put Nanuet back up one. Harlem then slipped into the lane and hit a 12-footer to put Oneonta back up one. It’s 35-34 with 53.2 left.

5:01 p.m.: Kahn was fouled on a runner. She missed the first. Timeout Oneonta. 35-34 Yellowjackets with 33.5 left. Big, big free throw coming up.

5:02 p.m.: She missed it. Oneonta rebounded and Nanuet fouled.

5:03 p.m.: Wow. What a shot by Brezovsky. She buried an 18-footer from the right corner with a hand in her face to make it 36-35 Nanuet with 16 seconds left. Kahn and Saponaro just pressured Harlem as she brought the ball toward the top of the key and Harlem walked. Nanuet ball with 11 seconds left.

5:05 p.m.: Kahn was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one. However, she forced a tieup on the rebound and the arrow favored Nanuet. So Nanuet ball, 7.7 seconds left, 36-35.

5:08 p.m.: Jentzen made two free throws and Kahn stole the inbound. She made her first free throw. It’s gonna be Nanuet.

5:09 p.m.: Nanuet wins 39-35 and wins its first state championship in program history. The Golden Knights also became the first Rockland public school to win a state girls basketball championship.

5:16 p.m.: They just announced the all-tourney team:

Madie Harlem, Oneonta
Sienna Wisse, Oneonta
Lauren Kahn, Nanuet
K.C. Jentzen, Nanuet (MVP)

Jentzen finished with 14 points to lead the way for Nanuet. Kahn had 10. Obviously the big shot was hit by Brezvosky, who has all nine of her points in the second half.

5:55 p.m.: FINAL STATS —

Nanuet: 14-40 FG; 2-11 3FG; 9-17 FT; 17 RB; 9 fouls; 1 block; 18 steals; 6 assists; 13 turnovers

K.C. Jentzen 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals (5 for 14 FG)
Lauren Kahn 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 7 steals (3 for 9 FG, 4 for 9 FT)
Christine Brezovsky 9 points (all in second half), 2 steals (4 for 6 FG)
Nikki Saponaro 4 points, 3 rebounds
Amy Delva 0 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
Christina Fitzgerald 0 points
Ryan Mulligan 2 points, 2 steals

Oneonta: 14-35 FG; 4-14 3FG; 3-5 FT; 31 RB; 14 fouls; 6 steals; 7 assists; 26 turnovers

Madie Harlem 14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 8 turnovers (6 for 14 FG)
Leslie Harlem 2 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Val Ridgway 2 points, 9 rebounds, 5 turnovers
Sienna Wisse 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 turnovers (4 for 12 FG)
Meridith Ridgway 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 5 turnovers
Erin Wolstenholme 0 points, 2 rebounds