Deanna Barry was rung up for two quick fouls and missed most of the first quarter.
She returned in the second, hitting two straight 3-pointers, turning a 9-point Highland lead into a 14-point lead, as the Huskies routed the James I. O’Neill Raiders, 50-26, to win the Section 9 Class B girls’ basketball championship on Thursday at Mount St. Mary in Newburgh.

“It feels great,” Barry said. “We came in with the win-or-go-home mentality, and we really brought it all. We have a special team this year, and we have been just working so hard to get to where we are. A lot of people thought we were the underdogs, and we came back and showed them who we really are.”
Who are they?

They’re Section 9 champions for the first time since 2018. Just two years ago, they were 4-14.

“This team has grown so much,” senior Grace Koehler said. “I’ve been there since the beginning: 2-18. To be 14-8 now, it’s crazy to be a section champion.”

The Huskies followed the 3-13 with an 11-6 season a year ago, where they won the Mid Hudson Athletic League Division III championship and reached the Section 9 Class B quarterfinals.

“It was a four-year process to get here,” Highland coach Michael Geller said. “(It took) the hard work of the girls, the dedication offseason, and the coachability, the willingness to learn and be the best players that they can be. I knew this year, if we were peaking at the right time, we could win the Class B championship.”

It took the Huskies overcoming an uneven first quarter, where foul trouble robbed them of Barry, their best 3-point shooter. The Huskies only trailed twice in the game: 3-2, 1:19 into the game, and 5-4 about a minute later.

Then, with Barry on the bench, Danica Valente knocked down a 3-point basket to give the Huskies the lead for good. The Huskies built an 8-piont lead after the first quarter and led by nine points when Barry stepped behind he 3-point line with 3:48 left in the second quarter.

She hit the first one to give the Huskies their first double-digit lead, and then with 2:26 remaining hit another 3-pointer, giving Highland a 21-7 lead. Barry finished with five 3-pointers and a game-high 19 points.

“Making the 3-pointers brought the energy up because the calls weren’t going our way in the first half,” Barry said. “Everyone really just stopped and got in their heads, and as soon as the 3s went in, everyone just started working together again.”

Barry’s outside game was complemented by freshman Ciara Teamer, who found success under the basket, scoring 15 points, most of which came in the paint.

“I’ve been trying to get her to be aggressive all season,” Barry said. “When me and her work good together, everyone is good. The energy is up. Me and her are big energy givers on this team.”

Daisy West led the Raiders with 14 points.

The Huskies reached the championship game with a 56-29 win over Onteora on Feb. 27.

Samantha Calahan scored 17 points, while Barry and Logan VanZandt added 11 points each.

The Huskies will move onto the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class B subregional on Wednesday at Yorktown High School against Section 1 champion Putnam Valley.

“If we bring the same effort and discipline we brought tonight, I think we have a good chance to move on in states,” Geller said.