It was quite symbolic that the West Genesee girls basketball team defeated Cicero-North Syracuse in its first Section III Class AA playoff game a season ago on the way to the sectional title.
For the previous eight years, the Northstars had ruled the sectional ranks, so knocking them off gave the Wildcats particular satisfaction and presented the possibility that the local pecking order had changed for good.
But last Friday night, when those two sides got together again, C-NS had the better of it, as the performances of senior Amani Free and freshman Jessica Cook helped to hold off a tough WG effort as the Wildcats took a 58-53 defeat.
Free had spent last season at Long Island Lutheran, and C-NS had struggled without her and with a young lineup. Now Free was back, and she, along with Cook, would carry the Northstars on this night, Free finishing with 32 points as Cook, a 6-foot-2 forward, announced her presence by pouring in 23 points,
Never trailing, C-NS began its first getaway when Free hit a long 3-pointer before the first-quarter horn. When WG chased her, Cook got open for five straight points as part of a 9-0 run that formed most of the basis for a 28-19 halftime lead.
Yet the Wildcats kept fighting back, whittling an 11-point deficit down to two, 38-36, late in the third quarter C-NS restored the margin with the combination of Free hitting outside shots late int he shot clock and Cook fighting her way open for lay-ups.
Again, WG tried to catch up, cutting C-NS’s 48-38 lead down to three, 56-53, with a minute left as Madison Smith worked her total to 19 points, Mackenzie Smith had 15 points and Mya Case got 10 points.
Not until Free hit two more free throws with 16.7 seconds left could the Northstars put the game away, the two sides knowing that they’ll meet again on Jan. 16 in Camillus.
While all this was going on, the West Genesee boys team opened its SCAC Metro schedule at home against C-NS, who continued its surprising start by rallying late to top the Wildcats 50-43.
Having won just seven games all of last season and missing the sectional playoffs did not sit well with the Northstars, who was already 6-0 this winter and coming off a tough Dec. 9 win over Corcoran.
Meanwhile, WG was 1-2 and, needing a spark, got it from a defense that stymied C-NS for most of the first half. The problem was that the Wildcats could not take full advantage of it, only garnering a 21-17 lead by the break.
Still clinging to a slim lead late, WG saw the visitors finish strong again, C-NS outscoring them 17-9 in the fourth quarter, led by Lukas Merluzzi, whose 17 points included nine successful free throws as A.J. Forney added 14 points and six rebounds.
On the Wildcats’ side, Will Amica finished with 16 points, while Lucas Sutherland delivered 13 points. But no other Wildcats player had more than two field goals.
Each of the WG basketball sides will take on Nottingham and Baldwinsville this week before the holiday break.
