CHAMPLAIN — Northeastern Clinton will be making its first appearance in the Final Four today since 2000, but there are many astute basketball fans who believe the Cougars would have been there at least a couple more times, if not for perennial power South Jefferson.

South Jeff, on its way to two state championships, proved to be a NCCS nemesis for most of the decade, but with a realignment of the regionals, the Cougars escaped meeting the Colonials this year and had no trouble winning the regionals. Northeastern Clinton cruised past Watervliet 49-31 last Saturday to advance to the Class B semifinals of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships in girls' basketball.

The 22-2 Cougars will take on the 19-6 Nanuet Golden Knights at 10:45 a.m. today at Hudson Valley Community College. The winner will meet either Olean or Oneonta for the championship at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Nanuet, which lost to South Jefferson 61-40 in the 2006 semifinals, returns to the Final Four for the second time in four years. The Golden Knights made it to Troy by virtue of a 57-45 victory over Wyandanch of Section XI in the Lower Hudson regional championship last weekend.

Wyandanch tried an up-tempo style, but with disastrous results. Poor shot selection and a 20-for-77 performance from the field compromised Wyandanch's chances. Nanuet easily handled Wyandanch's run-and-gun, although the Warriors did cut a 16-point deficit to four in the third quarter.

K.C. Jentzen, a 5-foot-10 junior, finished with 19 points and 18 rebounds to lead Nanuet while 5-foot-8 junior Amy Delva came off the bench to contribute 16 points and six rebounds.

The athletic Jensen leads the team in scoring, averaging 18.8 points per game, while Lauren Kahn, a 5-foot-8 junior guard, figures for 13.6 a contest.

Nanuet has reeled off eight straight victories since a 57-42 loss to Albertus Magnus on Feb. 4. Albertus Magnus also advanced to the state semifinals in Class A.

That should not been of any concern to the Cougars, who defeated three Class A schools (Saratoga Springs, Malone and Massena) this winter. Nor does Nanuet's height advantage worry NCCS Coach Andy Landry.

"Most teams do (have a height advantage). The only girl with any height is Mara Faiviae (a 5-foot-8 junior), who is coming along nicely for us," said Landry, who became the winningest coach in Section VII girls' basketball this month with 285 career victories.

"But our girls are scrappy. And we really have a lot of depth. I can go to my bench and we don't lose a thing."

With the exception of the three players new to the varsity this season, all have appeared in at least 20 of the Cougars' 24 games.

"The young girls — Cari Dominic, Alli Ebersol and Faiviae — are really coming on."

JohniRae Coryea, the last of the Coryea sisters, leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.3 points a game, while Katrina Garrand nets 12.5 a contest. Meagan McComb (9.7) and Jen Bechard (7.3) also have some big nights while the foursome of Courtney Brooks, Chelsey Brooks, Kim Dragoon and Faiviae combine to average more than 17 a game.

Courtney Brooks has really stepped it up in the postseason, offensively and defensively. She was the leading scorer, with 10 points, in the Cougars' win over Peru for the Section VII championship and she shared scoring honors in the Watervliet game.

"Courtney is one of those girls you don't usually rely on for points, but the last two games, she's been my high scorer," Landry pointed out.

"And defensively, she's like a little gnat who is on you all the time. The same with Kim Dragoon."

Courtney's sister, Chelsey, also has been big down the stretch for the Cougars, averaging eight points a game over her last four.

Landry's deep bench also enables him to force the issue on defense.

"It starts with the guards up front putting pressure on the ball," he said. "We like to press and do a lot of trapping."

Northeastern Clinton also is a seasoned team with seven seniors with three or four years on the varsity. Garrand is only a sophomore, but is in her third year with the big team.

"We have a lot of experience," Landry acknowledged.

Northeastern Clinton Cougars

Head Coach: J. Andy Landry

Assistants: Norm Bonneau, Erin Cromp.

Record: 22-2

No. PlayerYrPosHtGFGFTPTSAVG

14 JohniRae CoryeaSrG5-6241175631813.3

5 Katrina GarrandSoF5-6221026127712.5

22 Meagan McCombSrF5-62287182159.7

11 Jen BechardSrG5-62470181767.3

24 Courtney BrooksSrG5-52457141285.4

15 Chelsey BrooksSoG5-5245061124.7

2 Kim DragoonSrG5-42445141064.4

21 Mara FaiviaeJrC5-8193315814.2

41 Chantel LaValleySrC5-7233211753.2

4 Cari DominicSoF5-7223110733.3

13 Erin MaceySrG5-320102221.1

25 Alli EbersolSoG4-11 1441110.8

3-point leaders: Coryea, 28. McComb, 24. Bechard, 18. Garrand, 15.

Nanuet Golden Knights

Head Coach: Carlos Fidalgo

Record: 19-6

No. PlayerYrPosHtGFGFTPTSAVG

25K.C. JentzenJrF5-102516414147018.8

21Lauren KahnJrG5-8251156833913.6

—Lisa Kahn—-—-1241010.0

34Amy DelvaJrF5-82568271636.5

15Christine BrezovskySrG5-72553221395.6

24Nikki SaponaroJrG5-72040201085.4

14 Ryan MulliganSrG5-8253414823.3

33Kiera DooleySrG5-72152120.6

30Elizabeth ZodaJrF5-8162042.0

31Morgan Miller—-—-153062.0

13Christina FitzgeraldSoG5-825173471.93-point leaders: Kahn, 40. Fitzgerald, 10. Brezovsky, 9.