ONONDAGA COUNTY – Together in a circle at the center of the Baker High School gymnasium, girls basketball players from Baldwinsville and West Genesee put their arms around each other prior to last Monday night’s game.
For 19 seconds, they remained that way, bowing their heads. It matched the number 19 that Ava Wood wore as a member of B’ville’s junior varsity soccer team.
Ava, a ninth-grader at Durgee Junior High School, was found dead in her home on the morning of Jan. 20. The tragedy caused grief throughout the Baldwinsville school community.
Both the girls and boys basketball teams postponed their games with West Genesee. They were made up last Monday night, with the girls honoring Ava with that 19-second moment of silence and, in Camillus, the boys Bees and Wildcats both sporting special warm-up shirts with “Unity” on the front and Ava’s no. 19 on the back.
At home, the girls Bees prevailed 60-36, claiming its fifth win in a row and atoning for a 45-38 loss to WG back in December.
Building a 30-12 lead by halftime, B’ville saw Kyrah Wilbur lead the way with 22 points. Natalie Hollingshead and Madison Polky helped with 10 points apiece, while Olivia Davis got eight points.
The boys game also saw B’ville try to get even for a December loss, but West Genesee, improving to 11-2 on the season, prevailed 60-44.
Again playing strong defense, the Bees only trailed 23-20 at halftime before WG outscored them 20-6 in the third quarter to get away.
Only Eli Taft, with 16 points, scored in double figures for B’ville. Greg Marinelli had nine points, Matt Young eight points and Jason Bifulco seven points as Christian Amica (16 points) and Christian Cain (13 points) paced the Wildcats.
They both played again 24 hours later – and both lost, the girls win streak halted by Rome Free Academy 55-42 as the boys took a 47-42 defeat to Fayetteville-Manlius.
What was a close girls game altered itself in the third quarter when B’ville, leading 30-29, saw RFA put together a decisive 19-6 run led by Amya McLeod (21 points) and Alysa Jackson (19 points).
All through the second half, the Bees were cold from the field. Prior to that, Wilbur had earned most of her 13 points as Carlie Young had 11 points and Polky added seven points.
B’ville’s boys had knocked off F-M seven days earlier, and in the rematch limited the Hornets to just three points in the first quarter, eventually going to halftime up 18-14.
Yet as the Bees continued to struggle for baskets, the Hornets picked up its production, especially senior Trevor Roe, who poured in 22 points to help his team go in front for good. Marinelli, in defeat, led B’ville with 15 points.
When B’ville’s girls met Class AA state no. 9-ranked Liverpool on Thursday, the strain of a third game in four days showed all through a 75-29 loss to the Warriors.
Liverpool jumped out 25-3 in the first quarter and breezed from there, with four players in double figures led by Neveah Wingate’s 16 points. No Bees player had more than the five points put up by Young, Polky and Hollingshead.
It just so happened, when the B’ville boys faced Liverpool on Friday, that the Warriors’ top player, Andreo Ash, would return from a three-game absence to help the Warriors handle the Bees 72-43.
Liverpool, who had gone 1-2 without Ash, jumped out 21-3 on B’ville in a lopsided first quarter and watched as Ash would pick up 20 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Bruce Wingate had 11 points, with Jah’Deuir Reese and Fred Fowler getting 10 points apiece. No B’ville player scored in double figures as Young led with nine points and Tyler Nilsen got eight points.