Still with an opportunity to reach the post-season, the Cazenovia girls basketball team needed to start stringing together victories.

One of them came last Wednesday night, at Buckley Gym, when the Lakers hosted a non-league game against Vernon-Verona-Sherrill and took charge right way, parlaying a near-perfect first quarter into a 49-31 win over the Red Devils.

During those first eight minutes, Cazenovia was superb on the defensive end, rarely letting VVS get good shots, and it converted plenty, too, creating a 17-4 margin that the Red Devils could not recover from, though it stayed within sight until it scored just five points in the fourth quarter.

Danielle Tedesco paced the Lakers’ attack, finishing with 16 points. Jenna Britton had eight points, while Lucy Connor chimed in with seven points. Nine different Cazenovia players got on the scoreboard as opposed to VVS only having five, including Theresa Pittman, who led her side with 13 points.

Just 24 hours later, the Lakers hosted Jordan-Elbridge, and though the first half proved closer, a great run through the last two periods allowed Cazenovia to top its winning margin from the VVS game and beat the Eagles 52-32.

With no sustained run by either team, the first half proved a standstill, for the most part. Still, Cazenovia led, 19-16, at the break, and its shots began to fall on a regular basis during a third quarter where it more than doubled its output, outscoring J-E 21-12 to seize control.

Again, it was Tedesco and Connor leading the way, Tedesco working inside to earn 17 points, while Connor produced 11 points. Helping them out, Kaylee Cunningham and Jamie Joseph had eight points apiece. Alexis Braun (eight points) and Bailey Van Gorden (seven points) paced the Eagles’ efforts.

These wins improved Cazenovia’s record to 6-7, but its playoff fate largely rested on what happened this week in a crowded slate where it would face Cortland, Hannibal and Skaneateles – all told, three games in four nights.

At the very least, the bad winter weather gave the Cazenovia boys basketball team a respite following its recent busy stretch that included a string of games that looked promising, but ended in frustration and the team starting at a 3-10 record.

Desperate to turn that around, the Lakers did so at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill last Thursday night, beating the Red Devils 67-61 in a game where it stayed patient despite nearly squandering a great start.

The Lakers grabbed a 17-8 lead through one quarter, only to see VVS chip away and pull within two, 31-29, by halftime. Then it stayed close for much of the second half, with the Red Devils pulling even, 53-53, with 5:21 left on Ryan Palmer’s free throws.

Nearly a minute later, Shawn Cunningham pushed Cazenovia back in front with a free throw, and clutch 3-pointers by Tom Bragg and Daniel Kent created some separation that Cazenovia maintained the rest of the night.

All told, Bragg had 17 points, with Kent delivering 15 points as Jake Shaffner earned 11 points and Hunter Kolaweski got 10 points. VVS got most of its production from Dewey Roden, who had 20 points, and Davey Moffett, who earned 19 points.

Now Cazenovia had to turn around and visit Jordan-Elbridge on Friday night, but that didn’t faze the Lakers, who again turned to its defense to carry the load, which led to a 45-32 victory over the Eagles.

It turned in the second quarter, when Cazenovia, trailing 10-9, made its lone sustained run, outscoring J-E 16-7 the rest of the half. Then it kept the Eagles quiet while seeing several different players contribute to a modest attack.

Ben Nichols and Matt Regan led the Lakers with just eight points apiece. Bragg finished with seven points, while Shaffner and T.J. Connellan got six points apiece. J-E’s Brandon Macvicz led both sides with 10 points.

Even with this, Cazenovia would have to keep winning, and a key test looms this Friday when Skaneateles visits Buckley Gym for another Lakers showdown.