For much of last Tuesday night’s Section III Class B-1 quarterfinal, the Marcellus girls basketball team displayed grit and determination in the face of a high-quality opponent.

But the way the game started would haunt the Mustangs through the rest of the night as it fell to the Warriors 79-48 and saw its season end with a 13-8 record.

Having played no. 3 seed Westhill twice in the regular season, the no. 6 seed Mustangs were not surprised by what the Warriors could offer.

The only problem was that a prolonged rest between the regular season and playoffs had a big negative effect on Marcellus, who took more than a full quarter of play to get itself settled.

By that point, of course, Westhill was far off in the distance, having blitzed the Mustangs on both ends to create a 25-4 margin in that first period. By halftime, the margin was 44-18, and the suspense was over.

Still, Melissa Lee and Katie Gosson worked their way to 10 points apiece, while Emily Brisette and Lyssa Filtch each got five points. Westhill’s big stars came out, as Carly Cooper piled up 28 points and Annie O’Connor added 16 points.