However it turned out Sunday in the Section III Class B semifinal at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall, the Bishop Grimes girls basketball team had enjoyed a stellar and inspiring post-season run.
But the Cobras were in no mood to have it end yet.
Strong at the start and poised in the homestretch, Grimes upended top seed Oneida 51-46 and earned a berth in the sectional final against defending champion South Jefferson.
From a no. 13 seed in a 23-team field, the Cobras had already engineered three sectional victories, two of them on the road, and the presence of 21-1, state no. 7-ranked Oneida did not intimidate Grimes one bit, either.
Trailing early, the Cobras went on a 13-2 run to close out the first quarter, and then traded baskets with the Indians the rest of the half, a McKenna Squier 3-pointer cutting Grimes’ deficit to one, 25-24, at the break.
All through the second half, Grimes continued to get big baskets from reserve guard Nayweil Ayeil, who finished with a game-high 20 points, constantly matching whatever Oneida did to try and take control.
It was senior Lora Marial who earned five of her 12 points in the closing minutes to break a 42-42 tie. When Oneida closed back within three, 47-44, Rosalie Vincent hit her lone basket with a minute to play.
Ayeil’s pair of free throws with 17.2 seconds left sealed the victory. Aside from Ayeil and Marial, Jenna Sloan and Rhonee Shea Pal led Grimes with seven points apiece.
Having already prevailed at no. 4 seed Adirondack in the round of 16, Grimes struck again on the road in last Wednesday’s sectional quarterfinal when it went to no. 5 seed Vernon-Verona-Sherrill and took down the Red Devils 57-36.
Just as it had throughout the playoffs, the Cobras’ defense would set the tone, overcoming some early inconsistency to limit VVS to less than 10 points in each of the last three quarters.
Meanwhile, Grimes started to hit outside shots and, over the course of the second and third quarters, outscored the Red Devils 34-16 to all but put the game away.
Marial connected on five 3-pointers to account for most of her 23 points. Sloan and Pal both finished with 13 points, while Ayeil finished with eight points.
Oneida fell next, and Grimes will now prepare to face state no. 2-ranked South Jefferson, who withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally by Marcellus to win the other semifinal 56-52. The game tips off Saturday at 7 p.m. at Allyn Hall.
