In its all-out effort to dominate the rest of the Class A crowd this winter, the Christian Brothers Academy girls basketball team already seems to have risen far above its immediate competition in the OHSL Freedom division.
To prove it further, the Brothers toyed with 6-0 Jamesville-DeWitt in the latest chapter of their neighborhood feud last Tuesday night, easily winning this battle of two undefeated teams by a score of 75-47.
Each team arrived determined to establish its own strength. For CBA, it meant the all-out assault of its unparalleled backcourt on both ends of the floor, and for J-D, it meant Danielle Weekes working inside to exploit the team’s advantage in the paint.
Ironically, both sides would achieve its goals, to some degree. Weekes finished with 20 points, a season high, and towered over CBA’s front line whenever she got a chance to handle the ball.
Yet Weekes, all by herself, could not keep up with the torrid pace set by the Brothers’ vaunted trio of Amanda Billy, Sarah Paulus and Kayla Stroman, especially since no other J-D player reached double figures.
Billy again showed why she is CBA’s most reliable offensive threat. She poured in 10 points as CBA raced to a 15-4 edge, hitting on her first four shots, all jumpers.
And when J-D threatened in the third quarter, Billy drained back-to-back 3-pointers to quell the threat. All told, she finished with 26 points.
Meanwhile, Paulus handled the ball well against J-D’s guards, using her quick first step to the goal to keep the Rams off balance. She had 16 points, augmenting that total with her usual amount of defensive contributions.
Stroman at times struggled with her jump shot, but still had 10 points and joined Paulus and Billy in implementing full-court pressure that led to a string of J-D turnovers. Leanne Ockenden came off the bench to score nine points.
Later this week, CBA visits East Syracuse-Minoa and J-D hosts Chittenango.