Waterloo was down ten points after three quarters and may have been lucky to be that close. Fortunately, they found an entirely different gear in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers opened the fourth quarter with the first 11 points and dizzied Putnam Valley with a 29-9 surge that concluded with a 58-48 Waterloo victory in the Class B state final Saturday evening at Hudson Valley Community College near Albany. It was the first girls basketball state championship in school history.

To underline how improbable the Waterloo comeback was, their 29 fourth quarter points matched their total from the first three quarters combined.

Jazzman Lewis really got the rally revving with a fast break three point play. Morgan Carabello and Natalie DiSanto followed with a pair of three pointers and Waterloo had their first lead of the second half at 40-39.

Putnam hit the next bucket, but a pretty scoop by Addison Bree got Waterloo back in front by a point. A Putnam Valley free throw knotted the game at 42 with three minutes to play.

DiSanto canned another triple to give Waterloo the lead for good with 2:30 play. Bree followed with her own three-pointer to make it a six-point advantage. The Tigers salted away the game with free throws from there.

Lewis led the Tigers with 20 points while Carabello had 17. The championship ran Waterloo’s win streak to 15 games and they are now 27-1.

The season isn’t quite done. Waterloo will be back in Albany next weekend for the New York State Federation Championship against private schools that did not participate in the NYSPHSAA championship. The Tigers will play a semifinal Saturday afternoon at 3pm.