CENTRAL NEW YORK – A real opportunity to turn the girls Section III Class B playoffs into a neighborhood party was in play heading into last weekend’s quarterfinal round.
Marcellus, Jordan-Elbridge and Skaneateles were all still alive, each of them having survived round-of-16 test. Now they all went into the quarterfinals – but only one of them, the Mustangs, would go further.
Marcellus would require senior Gabby Voss to take on a far larger role than usual for the no. 3 seed Mustangs to fight off an upset bid from no. 14 seed Clinton in W and prevail 52-43.
For three quarters, it was tight, the Comets staying step for step and only trailing 37-35 going to the fourth quarter, having mostly contained the duo of Cece Powell and Tenly Baker.
But it was Voss who, with several key baskets in the late going, helped Marcellus get clear. Voss set a season mark with 15 points that complemented Powell’s 18 points and Baker’s 17 points.
This led to a tough quarterfinal Friday night against no. 6 seed Bishop Grimes, whom it beat in mid-January. Once again, though, Powell and Baker led the way as the Mustangs got a 55-38 win over the Cobras.
Defense helped early, Marcellus holding Grimes to just four points in the first quarter. Then production picked up on both ends, but the Mustangs got away when it outscored the Cobras 18-9 in the third quarter.
Displaying her vast all-around game, Powell augmented her 26 points with eight rebounds, five assists and five steals, and when that didn’t work, Baker poured in 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and earned two blocks.
J-E began its sectional playoff run hosting no. 10 seed Holland Patent Tuesday and, like Marcellus, showed more balance than usual in the course of eliminating the Golden Knights 60-41.
A fast-paced start proved to the Eagles’ liking as it eventually went in front 41-28 by halftime and then, in the third quarter, thwarted any HP hopes for a comeback by holding the visitors to just two points.
Abby Ahern led J-E with 16 points, with Erin LaVancha close behind as she got 14 points. Ava Hildebrant, who just passed 1,000 career points, had 12 on this night as Makayla Penird had eight points and Brooke Chiaramonte six points.
Now the Eagles would challenge no. 2 seed General Brown in the quarterfinals and get a chance to meet Marcellus in the semifinals, and though it started and finished well, a mid-game lapse proved costly in a 59-45 defeat to the Lions.
Through one quarter, J-E only trailed 16-14, but over the course of the next two periods GB clamped down and only gave up 15 total points while establishing a 43-29 margin.
Battling to the end, the Eagles got 11 points from Hildebrant, but Ahern was held to six points, something LaVancha (eight points) and Chiaramonte (seven points) could not overcome as the Lions had Brooke Wiley (15 points), Mollie Peckham and Madelyn Ferris (13 points each) score in double figures, ending J-E’s season with a 14-8 record.
Meanwhile, Skaneateles had a special performance last Tuesday from senior Ayla Pas’cal, who all but carried the no. 9 seed Lakers past no. 8 seed Syracuse Academy of Science 54-44.
Having netted 30 points against Syracuse West in the Feb. 15 regular-season finale, Pas’cal kept it going here, only to a larger degree, her play on both ends helping Skaneateles jump out to a 14-4 lead on the Atoms by the end of the first quarter.
For the rest of the game, Skaneateles built on that margin and then nursed it, Pas’cal continuing to add to her total until she finished with 33 points, a new career mark.
No other Lakers player had more than Bella Pietroapoli’s six points, but Pas’cal’s total nearly equaled the three top SAS scorers – Imija Williams (15 points), A’Lanna Patterson (13 points) and Shayla Baker (10 points).
Now given the tall tall task of trying to topple top seed Utica Notre Dame in the quarterfinals Saturday night, the Lakers could not pull it off, overwhelmed in a 72-38 loss to the Jugglers.
UND, no. 3 in the latest state Class B rankings, settled it early with a 25-2 first-quarter blitz, building on that margin the rest of the way led again by Ella Trinkaus, who got 24 points.
For Skaneateles, whose season concluded with an 11-11 record, Pas’cal would cool down from her SAS performance, only getting 11 points as Allie Michel added nine points.
So the sectional semifinals next Wednesday at Rome Free Academy will pit Marcellus against General Brown and UND against no. 4 seed Little Falls, with the winners going to Saturday’s 5:30 title game at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall.
