CENTRAL NEW YORK – For the second time in December the Bishop Grimes girls basketball team found itself on the same court with its neighbors from Jamesvile-DeWitt, only now it was in the championship game of the Cobras’ holiday tournament.
Their Dec. 28 battle would prove tense and close, but the Cobras, who had soared to no. 2 in the first state Class B rankings of the season, would again win, holding off the Red Rams 46-41.
Having prevailed 51-40 when they first played Dec. 2, Grimes had an even bigger margin in the first half of the rematch, using a 20-10 second quarter to power to a 30-17 advantage.
But J-D nearly made up all the ground in a 17-6 push through the third period, requiring the Cobras’ defense to step up and make sure the Rams didn’t overtake them.
Riley Abernethy picked up 13 points to lead Grimes. Sicliy Shaffer got 10 points, Sierra Baxter adding nine points and Alliyah Zachery seven points. Ava Sandroni’s 11 points led J-D, Lindsay Parker adding 10 points as Savannah Schnorr had eight points and Samantha Wheeler earned seven points.
This result halted a five-game win streak J-D had built since its 0-3 start, which had included the tournament’s opening-round game against Rome Free Academy whose final score of 46-41 exactly replicated what would happen in the final.
The start proved the difference. J-D held the Black Knights in check and built a 12-5 advantage through one period, then answered all of RFA’s charges as Sandroni got 15 points and Sadie Withers 12 points. Schnorr added eight points.
Grimes followed beating Fayetteville-Manlius 65-47 in the other opening-round game, jumping out 22-8 on the Hornets before the first quarter ended and building upon that margin once the second half started.
Shaffer and Zachery continued to dazzle, with Shaffer pouring in 24 points and Zachery 19 points. Kierra Baxter and Riley Abernethy each got nine points in support as, for F-M, Taylor Novack led with 12 points and Lydia Land-Steves contributed 11 points.
F-M lost again 65-40 to RFA in the consolation game, not able to recover after the Black Knights built up a 37-19 halftime advantage. Still, Novack had 12 points and nine rebounds, Land-Steves also earning 12 points and Jane Ryan accumulating 10 points.
This happened just after Christian Brothers Academy claimed the title at the East Syracuse Minoa Holiday Tournament held on Dec. 27 and 28.
Just to win the title CBA first had to beat ESM in the opening round, a game tense and close all the way through until the Brothers outscored the Spartans 14-9 in the fourth quarter to get away and win it 43-36.
Cara Macaluso had a career-best performance for CBA netting 23 points, including four 3-pointers. Liana Thomas added 12 points, matching ESM’s high total from Aniyah Jones as Sonya Benhassen gave the Spartans nine points.
Even more dramatic, from CBA’s perspective, was the way it beat West Genesee 54-51 in the finals. Held to five points in the first quarter and trailing 31-17 at the break, the Brothers chipped away at the deficit and then, in the fourth quarter, outscored the Wildcats 21-10 to surge in front.
Juliette Zimmerman led the comeback, her 16 points mostly composed of four 3-pointers. Thomas contributed 14 points, with Macaluso earning nine points and Lilah Kirch getting eight points.
ESM, meanwhile, secured third place by defeating Watertown 48-36 in the consolation game. Building a 31-9 lead by halftime, the Spartans saw Benhassen set a new season mark with 18 points, offering a perfect complement to Jones, who earned 17 points.
A week later, ESM would challenge F-M, but this time the Hornets were able to get a victory against a neighboring opponent, edging the Spartans 46-42.
All game long the lead traded hands, and they were tied 34-34 going to the fourth quarter, where F-M finally went in front for good along with making a series of key defensive stops.
Land-Steves had 14 points, with Novack getting 11 points and Ryan eight points. This scoring balance contrasted ESM’s sole reliance on Jones, who poured in a season-best 30 points.
