Payton Dulin helps Baldwin girls defeat Central Catholic in state Class AA semi

TROY — Before the postseason started, Tom Catapano had a simple message for his Baldwin girls basketball team.

Seven games.

To win the third state championship in program history, Baldwin needed seven more victories.

The Bruins have been counting off those wins ever since, and that’s why even after a 62-55 victory over Central Catholic in a state Class AA semifinal on Saturday morning at Hudson Valley Community College that Baldwin controlled from the opening tip, there was no elaborate celebration afterward. The Bruins remained focused on one thing.

“We have one more,” junior guard Alyssa Polonia said. “That’s our mindset. From the start of playoffs, we had seven and now we’re all the way down to one. We know what the goal is.”

Baldwin (23-1) plays Aquinas Institute (23-1) at 10 a.m. on Sunday at Hudson Valley Community College in the state Class AA final.

Payton Dulin led Baldwin with 22 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals. Central Catholic finished 21-3.

Polonia doesn’t often have her name among the scoring leaders in a boxscore, but Saturday was her moment.

The junior made a three-pointer with 20 seconds left in the first quarter that started a 15-2 run over 3:59 as Baldwin opened a 33-19 lead with 4:21 left in the second quarter. Polonia had seven points in that stretch and scored 16 of her 17 points in the first half, including 10 in the first quarter.

“I felt really good, I just knew [my shots were] going to go in,” she said. “I was really balanced and I just had that feeling from warm-ups. I was being really confident with myself, taking the open lanes, driving and having confidence in myself.”

“That’s the thing; we have five, six, seven guards who can really play on any night,” Catapano said. “Monique [Echols], Payton, Alyssa, our bench, Ajeya [Nicholas], Chinaya [Okogeri], I think we saw that a little bit tonight where we can hurt you in so many ways.”

Polonia shot 7-for-10 from the field with five rebounds and two steals, Toni Smith had 10 points and six rebounds and Nicholas added eight points and four rebounds. Baldwin led 40-26 at halftime and 55-40 entering the fourth quarter.

“When hard work meets opportunity, something special can happen,” Catapano said. “And they’ve been working really hard and they finally got their opportunity up here and I think we’re seeing something really special happen.”

Smith knows the feeling of losing in the state tournament. The senior was a part of two Long Island championship Baldwin teams that left Troy without the ultimate prize. She’s determined to end her senior year differently.

“We have a lot of [players] on the roster who have been here before and been in this environment, so it’s about teaching the younger group we have to lock in,” Smith said. “This is not a vacation. Our goal is to win a state championship.

“Obviously, we are extremely grateful to win. We’re extremely grateful for the opportunity to play [Sunday]. But we still have one more.”