As it rested and got ready for 2013, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team did so maintaining an unblemished mark after a frantic week of activity.
Starting on Tuesday, when it rallied past Fayetteville-Manlius 35-33, the Red Rams played three times in four nights, two of them against Class AA foes.
The F-M game started that stretch, and a trip to Nottingham on Friday night ended it, a contest where, once more, J-D saved its best work for the homestretch and pulled out a 48-41 victory over the Bulldogs.
With two strong defensive teams on the floor, the first half featured few baskets, Nottingham inching its way into a 19-14 advantage.
The third quarter proved pivotal. As the Bulldogs slumped in the face of the Red Rams’ pressure, J-D grabbed a 27-25 lead as Cydney Goodrum and Maddy Frank both went to the forefront.
Goodrum, drawing defensive attention all game, constantly went to the foul line. Of her 13 points, nine of them came from successful free throws, three of them in the final period.
Still, it took Frank’s work to pull the Rams through. Trailing 30-29, J-D went ahead for good when Frank drained a 3-pointer with six minutes left.
Nottingham traded baskets, staying close. It was still a one-point game, 42-41, when Frank flashed open and, with 40 seconds left, sank another key 3-pointer.
The Bulldogs never got closer as Frank earned eight of her 12 points in the fourth quarter. Behind Frank and Goodrum, Kayleigh Cavanaugh produced seven points, while Alyssa Robens and Nyree Mitchell managed six points apiece.
Just before that, the Red Rams visited Fowler on Dec. 19, and this time didn’t wait to crank up its offense as it rolled past the Falcons 57-34.
A string of early baskets, combined with the usual suffocating defense, had J-D in a comfortable 17-4 lead by the end of the first quarter. Steadily, the margin kept going, and the Rams used another big burst in the third quarter, outscoring Fowler 21-5, to put the game away.
Goodrum earned six of her team-high 14 points at the free-throw line. Cavanaugh, with 11 points, also hit double figures, while Arriell Mussi finished with nine points. Ten of the 11 J-D players that saw action scored at least two points, with Carly O’Hern getting all five of her points at the foul line.
