Following its win in the Central Square Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, the Fayetteville-Manlius girls basketball team came back home for a pair of contests.

Far more importantly, the Hornets welcomed back a vital part of its formula. Torie Lee, sidelined in January by a stress fracture in her foot, was cleared to play just before F-M took on West Genesee last Friday night.

And with Lee back on the prowl, the Hornets stepped up its game on both ends of the floor, earning a 56-45 victory over the Wildcats.

At first, it took a while for F-M to adjust to the whole crew, but a 15-9 deficit vanished by halftime as the Hornets went in front, 25-24.

Neither team was hot in the third quarter, but by holding WG to six points, F-M kept the lead and stayed patient, then pulled clear down the stretch.

All the while, Lee played at full speed, and the sophomore delivered a team-best 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

That helped free up her teammates, as Emily Trapani earned 14 points and Morgan Axenfeld got 11 points. Kelly Radigan also hit two 3-pointers, as she got eight points and Dana Gould contributed six points. Nicole Monroe, with 14 points, was the lone Wildcat to score in double figures.

This followed last Tuesday’s game against Fowler, a 52-20 romp where it never let the Falcons score more than seven points in any period and got all 11 players on the court, each of them getting at least one field goal.

In an otherwise relaxing affair, Axenfeld still had 12 points, with Radigan adding 10 points and Trapani contributing nine points.

The win over West Genesee put the Hornets at 14-5, and in a great position going into Friday’s regular-season finale against Auburn.