SYRACUSE – Even if it didn’t involve the extreme momentum swings of their last encounter, the girls basketball Section III Class AAA championship game between Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse Saturday night at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall proved instantly memorable for other reasons.
Part of it was the sheer intensity present from opening tip to final horn. Another part was the remarkable individual efforts turned out, especially by A’briyah Cunningham for the Warriors and Leah Benedict for the Northstars.
Ultimately, though, the good memories belonged to Liverpool, who again emerged as sectional champions by turning back C-NS 57-51 on the same day that the boys Warriors earned its own sectional title at the Northstars’ expense.
Here, the shadow of their first meeting in December, where C-NS led by 22 in the first half but Liverpool roared back to win 61-49, loomed for a while, but quickly it was clear that neither side was going to have anything close to that kind of lead here.
The Warriors’ 7-0 start was the biggest lead either side would have in the first half. On one end, Cunningham was using her trademark aggression to get scoring opportunities and racking up 18 points before the break.
On the other end, Benedict, the Northstars’ freshman guard, was hitting five 3-pointers, all of them from the same spot in the corner, and would add a third early in the third quarter to forge a 39-39 tie.
Gradually, though, the game settled into a second-half standoff dominated by the defenses. And it was Liverpool’s defense that would take charge in the fourth quarter, holding C-NS without a field goal for more than six minutes.
When Kaylyn Sweeney hit a layup with 6:35 to go, it broke a 45-45 tie and gave Liverpool the lead for good. The margin grew to 54-47, and though C-NS cut it to 54-51 in the final minute, free throws by Giselle Cruz and Gianna Washington clinched the Warriors’ victory.
Cunningham, who battled injuries and foul trouble down the stretch, still finished with 26 points as Washington added 10 points. Benedict led the Northstars with 21 points, Kat McRobbie-Taru adding 15 points, but no other C-NS player getting more than five points.
By winning, Liverpool earned a return trip to the state tournament. At SRC Arena next Saturday at 1 p.m., it will face Section II champion Colonie with a berth in the March 15-16 state final four in Troy on the line.
