CLINTON-In a classic battle of Cooperstown's size and power against West Canada Valley's speed and quickness, the latter prevailed by the slimmest of margins.

Top seed West Canada Valley used a late 8-0 run and Cooperstown missed a potential game winning shot as time expired as the Lady Indians escaped with a 46-45 victory in a Section Three Class C girls semifinal at Clinton High School Saturday afternoon.

West Canada, 20-2, advances to the Class C final on Saturday at LeMoyne College, where they will play second seed Little Falls, 19-3, who crushed Bishop Ludden in the other semifinal Saturday.

The Lady Redskins used their superior height to take early control of the game, as sophomore center Samantha Fox scored eight of her 18 points in the second quarter.

CCS took a 20-10 lead with four minutes remaining before halftime, but West Canada Valley, spurred by a full court press that started forcing turnover after turnover, scored the next 11 points to take a 21-20 lead.

"It was very physical game and we did start to tire and make bad passes in the second quarter," said CCS girls basketball coach Frank Miosek. "Each team seemed to go on scoring runs, and then the other team would respond. It was a great battle."

Fox scored at the halftime buzzer to put CCS up one, 22-21, but the Lady Indians scored the first six points of the second half to take their biggest lead at 27-22, capping a 17-2 run from the end of the first half to the beginning of the second.

But Cooperstown, which appeared tired during Canada's run, found a second wind, as sophomore forward Jen Wehner scored five straight points, including a three-point play, to cut the lead back to two, 29-27.

CCS senior Merritt Schifano put Cooperstown back in the lead at 31-29 with a 15-foot jumper, and, after a West Canada basket, Cooperstown senior Dana Leonard converted a three-point play with 12 seconds remaining in the quarter to put Cooperstown up, 34-31.

The Lady Redskins took a six point lead with just over six minutes remaining when Fox scored five straight points, but West Canada came right back with five points of its own to cut the lead to one.

Leonard, who finished an outstanding varsity career with 18 points, scored four straight points to put Cooperstown back up five, 43-38, with 4:20 remaining.

But the Lady Indians' pressure defense again started to take effect, and CCS was held scoreless for the next four minutes. WCV's Chloe Mankowksi (8 points) hit a runner in the lane to put the Lady Indians back up by one, 44-43, with 1:20 remaining.

After a Cooperstown turnover, West Canada's Kristin Medves hit a pair of free throws to make it 46-43. Cooperstown sophomore Lindsay Potrikus responded with a 10-foot baseline jumper to make it 46-45, and WCV missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, giving the Lady Redskins one last chance to win the game.

Leonard missed a driving lay-up, and the ball was knocked out of bounds by West Canada with .7 seconds remaining. The ball was inbounded to Fox under the basket, but her rushed shot was off the mark as time expired.

Little Falls handed Cooperstown two of its five losses this season, and Miosek said his team would have relished another opportunity to play them.

"We were really looking forward to that opportunity, especially on a big court like LeMoyne, but it wasn't in the cards," he said.

Cooperstown ends the season with an 18-5 record, and will lose just Leonard and Schifano to graduation.

"Our guards really need to work on ball handling during the off season," Miosek said. "Dana did a lot of that for us this year, and we need some girls to step into that role if we're going to be successful next year."