In the last full week of the regular season, the state Class A top-ranked Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team continued to avoid the ups and downs all of its neighbors had to face.
The Red Rams won its third straight game by more than 50 points last Tuesday when it took apart Fulton 77-21. J-D bolted out to a 35-7 halftime lead and continued to display a deep, well-balanced attack that complemented the usual stellar defense.
No one had more than the 12 points put up by Momo LaClair and Andrea Sumida, though Paige Keeler got 11 points and Gabby Stickle had 10 points. Meg Hair finished with nine points and all 10 Rams players that saw action earned at least one field goal.
It figured to get tougher when J-D hosted Central Square Friday, the last regular-season home game for Hair, Jamie Boeheim and Kasey Vaughan, leaders of back-to-back state championship teams.
There was no loss of focus as the Red Rams turned back the Redhawks 70-37, erasing a first-quarter deficit by outscoring Central Square 48-18 over the course of the second and third periods.
Hair, with 22 points, led the charge, backed up by Boeheim, who earned 15 points as Stickle got 13 points. LaClair gained seven points and Keeler had six points.
J-D also played on Saturday against a powerful New Jersey team, Gill St. Bernard, and lost, 40-38, held to five points in the third quarter by the Knights as Hair, in defeat, got 15 points, with Stickle adding nine points and Boeheim getting eight points.
Fayetteville-Manlius had three games in a 48-hour span late in the week, starting Thursday with a trip to New Hartford and a hard-fought 61-57 win over the Spartans.
Up 20-11 through one period, the Hornets essentially kept that margin through the middle stages and held on late as New Hartford, led by eighth-grader Kaia Henderson (who had 28 points), nearly caught up.
To hang on, F-M needed Alexis Schneider to earn 18 points as Lexie Roe added 11 points. Close behind them, Alexandra Vinci gained nine points as Lily Fish had eight points and Kendra Broddus got six points.
The Hornets had to turn around Friday and face defending sectional Class AA champion West Genesee, whom it nearly beat on Jan. 11. The rematch was close until the second quarter, when WG took over, outscoring F-M 42-8 the rest of the way as the Hornets lost 67-29.
Unfazed by this, F-M, in its third game in as many days, rose up Saturday and, for the second time this season, knocked off Baldwinsville 51-42, establishing most of the margin while building a 27-19 halftime lead.
Roe, with 14 points, and Schneider, with 13 points, led the charge as Fish got eight points and Alexis Gray seven points. No single B’ville player hurt F-M much as Jenna Costello led with 11 points, while Katie Pascale and Carolyn Brussel had nine points apiece.
Christian Brothers Academy hosted Altmar-Parish-Williamstown last Monday and pulled away to beat the Rebels 70-43. Big starts to each half helped the Brothers establish a 57-33 edge by the end of the third quarter.
All 10 players that saw action got at least two field goals. Brooke Jarvis had 17 points, while Maura Clare Conan had 10 points. Mary Reith and Hannah Brook s had seven points apiece and Emily Hall got six points.
What proved just as impressive was the way the Brothers turned around and, 24 hours later, went to Buckley Gym to record a 69-50 victory over the Cazenovia Lakers.
The Brothers built a 40-23 advantage by halftime and Jarvis would finish with 25 points. Ten different CBA players got on the scoresheet as Olivia Carni had 10 points and Hall eight points. Cazenovia lost despite 25 points and 15 rebounds from Lindsey Lawson.
A win at Marcellus on Friday would clinch a winning record for CBA, and it got that win, prevailing 53-45 despite getting held without a field goal in the first quarter as it fell behind 11-1.
Still trailing 24-15 at halftime, the Brothers went on a 25-12 tear through the third quarter to take the lead for good. Again, Jarvis proved tough to stop as she poured in 25 points, while Hall had 12 points.
East Syracuse Minoa went to Central Square last Monday and took a 49-22 defeat to the Redhawks, falling behind 29-11 by halftime as Amy Havill paced the Spartans with eight points.
By herself, Central Square’s Bre Ransom outscored ESM, earning 26 points, most of it from six 3-pointers. Lauren Bell grabbed 22 rebounds to go with 10 points, five blocks and three assists.
But the Spartans got its second win of the season Thursday night, outlasting Mexico 27-17 as it outscored the Tigers 15-8 in the second half. Angelina Thomason had 12 points, with Holly Carr contributing seven points.
This made Friday’s 55-24 defeat to Oswego a bit easier to take. Thomason had seven points, while Samantha Valentine and Taylor Filmer got six points apiece.
