Something incredible took place Sunday at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall, and the Marcellus girls basketball team was largely responsible for it.
Forget that the Mustangs’ season ended in a pulse-pounding 56-52 defeat to defending champion South Jefferson in the Section III Class B semifinals.
The mere fact that it was so close was a tribute to a resilient Marcellus squad that simply would not accept defeat.
After scoring the game’s first nine points, little had gone right for the Mustangs as the Spartans gradually took control, eventually building a 46-29 advantage by the end of the third quarter.
With less than six minutes left, it was still 46-31, but anyone who thought this was done did not wear Mustangs colors.
Sam Wynne’s 3-pointer helped spark a furious Marcellus comeback. Emma MacLachlan cut the margin to four, Wynne’s basket made it two and, when Hannah Durand sank a pair of free throws with 1:05 left in regulation, it was 47-47.
Somehow, Marcellus had gone on a 16-1 run in a span of five minutes to pull even, and one more defensive stop might have produced a landmark victory.
Instead, South Jefferson’s Jackie Piddock hit a basket, was fouled and made the ensuing free throw. Then Piddock put the game away by sinking six consecutive foul shots in the closing seconds, giving her 24 points overall, which negated late baskets by Durand and Sarah Fallon.
Everyone had a part in the Mustangs’ valiant performance. Wynne led a well-balanced attack with 12 points, while Durand had nine points. Mei LaMarre got eight points as Fallon and Katie MacLachlan had seven points apiece. Emma MacLachlan had five points and Shannon Kellar got four points.
Before all this, Marcellus trailed no. 6 seed Syracuse Academy of Science in last Tuesday’s sectional Class B quarterfinal, but with another all-out attack in the fourth quarter it rescued the game and beat the Atoms 66-63.
Much like its first sectional game Feb. 22 when it had to rally late to upend no. 14 seed Central Valley Academy 54-47, Marcellus had all kinds of stress against an SAS side who lost 67-53 to the Mustangs in early December, but entered the night sporting a 10-game win streak and no. 13 state Class B ranking.
Neither team could produce that much in the first half, but the Atoms inched in front, 25-22, by the break and then extended that margin in the third quarter, led by Alexius Pierce, who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Entering the final period, the Mustangs trailed 43-35, but its relentless pressure took a toll on SAS, leading to turnovers and a string of baskets that, by the final minute, had Marcellus out in front.
The comeback was led by Durand, whose 20 points included four 3-pointers as Katie MacLachlan converted three times from long range on her way to 14 points.
Inside, Fallon produced 17 points and Emma MacLachlan had six points as Pierce got support from Xyel Bradford (14 points) and Freey Pleasants (13 points) for the Atoms.
Now Marcellus watched as Westhill, the no. 10 seed, met up with South Jefferson in yet another post-season clash between these two long-time powers.
Having nearly won their head-to-head meeting on Dec. 28, the Warriors started well – but watched the Spartans dominate the game’s middle stages and prevail by a 60-42 margin.
With memories of that earlier 55-53 loss spurring it on, Westhill got key baskets early from the likes of Jenna Larrabee and Catherine Dadey and led 12-11 through one period.
South Jefferson then took over on both ends. Defensively, the Spartans’ size and aggressive nature frustrated Larrabee, and few of her teammates got open looks, either.
Meanwhile, on the other end South Jefferson kept scoring at will during a 43-17 rush through the second and third quarters, led by Abby Piddock (20 points) and Jackie Piddock (19 points) as Emma Schafer got 11 rebounds.
Unable to recover from this long Spartans run, the Warriors saw Larrabee finish with 15 points and Dadey 13 points as Mary Gibson added eight points.
