Ever since it got moved up to Class B, the Bishop Grimes girls basketball team measured itself by the program Sue Ludwig had built at Westhill.
Now, with one victory against the Warriors already in the books, the state Class B no. 2-ranked Cobras sought a regular-season sweep against them Saturday afternoon in a game that was the feature attraction during Grimes’ annual Alumni Day gathering.
Grimes got it, not only defeating Westhill 57-40, but also clinching the OHSL Liberty American division regular-season championship and taking a major step forward to a possible undefeated regular season.
They had first met Dec. 5, when Westhill was still getting used to its new lineup, and Grimes had prevailed 45-34. Since then, as the Cobras stayed unblemished, Westhill took off on its own nine-game streak before Cazenovia halted it, rallying to win 40-39 on Jan. 23.
Westhill knew the challenge at Grimes was a steep one, but took encouragement from a first quarter where the Cobras missed shots and the Warriors stayed within range, only trailing 11-9.
But in the game’s middle stages, Grimes turned to its stars, who didn’t disappoint. Jordan Vaught had 10 of her 13 points in the second quarter, where the Cobras started pulling away, taking a 32-21 lead to the break.
From there, the Warriors’ problems in the paint were exposed. Maria Gronau hit on six of her eight points in the third quarter for Grimes, and freshman forward Azariah Wade was tough to stop all day, picking up a game-high 20 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
Vaught had six assists and five steals to go with those 13 points, with Teresa Shattuck contributing six assists and Katy McInerney getting seven points.
In defeat, Westhill saw Delaney Martin pick up 16 points, while Katelyn Karleski had a season-best 15 points, but the Warriors’ two other reliable offensive threats, Mackenzie Martin and Mary Kate Washburn, were held to one basket apiece.
Essentially, the Cobras’ game against Jordan-Elbridge last Thursday served as a tune-up for Westhill, with everyone on the roster seeing plenty of court time and Grimes rolling to a 65-24 victory over the Eagles.
Up 40-16 by halftime, the Cobras saw Wade (14 points), Vaught (10 points) and Brianna Squier (13 points) get to double figures, with another freshman, Kyra Grimshaw, contributing seven points. More importantly, though, everyone got through the game (Grimes’ first in more than a week) without an injury.
A night later, Jamesville-DeWitt and CBA, who are about to square off on Tuesday, had very different results in their respective OHSL Freedom division contests.
The Red Rams ripped Homer, 60-10, the damage including a fourth-quarter shutout and little production from the Trojans elsewhere, too.
Offensively, Julia Kelner led with nine points, with Julia Fairbanks (eight points) and MaryKate Scheftic (seven points) close behind. Maddy Frank, Meg Hair, Carly O’Hern and Alyssa Robens had six points apiece.
CBA, by contrast, was at Cortland and taking a 50-38 defeat to the Purple Tigers. Essentially, the Brothers paid for a quiet first half where it scored just seven points in each of the first two periods and could not make up the entire ground it ceded.
Julie Cuomo did finish with 12 points, while Nafysa Williams got 10 points and Paige Nicholson contributed six points. Cortland’s Shea Swartout stood out on this night, pouring in 21 points as Erin Brown (11 points), Abby Hess and Jackie Phillips (eight points each) helped out.
