Aside from one nemesis in the form of Oswego, the Fayetteville-Manlius girls basketball team has conquered every other foe this winter.

And the Hornets got one of its best wins of the season last Tuesday night, defending its home court in a hard-fought 43-39 win over Nottingham.

Going in, the Bulldogs were 6-2, slowly working its way back to the position of power that allowed it to win Section III titles every year from 2000 to ’05.

Not impressed by any of this, the battle-tested Hornets played strong defense throughout the first half, eventually working its way to a 25-17 halftime lead.

All through the second half, Nottingham tried to make runs, only to see the Hornets maintain its defensive edge and stay out in front.

Torie Lee, who finished with 13 points, led a balanced offense. Morgan Axenfeld added 11 points, while Katie Sager and Emily Trapani each had eight points. For the Bulldogs, Iaellan Walters had 13 points and Nikki Works added 11 points.