In building a six-game win streak, the Liverpool girls basketball team had shown everyone its intentions of going for a Section III Class AA title.

What would really do the trick, though, would be if the 6-1 Warriors ventured to Oswego and knocked off the Buccaneers, with a similar record (8-1, to be exact) and similar ambitions.

That attempt was made Friday night — and almost succeeded. But the Bucs would defend its home court and hand Liverpool a 45-42 defeat.

Knowing that the Warriors wanted to establish an inside game, Oswego lined up in a zone defense for much of the night, daring Liverpool to shoot.

Lauren Pluchino would fare best in that situation, hitting both of her team’s 3-pointers and finishing with 14 points. But Colleen Maloney struggled, held to just six points, while Sharon Dennis (nine points) and Tyler Ash (seven points) offered some help on that front.

Down to the Bucs 28-21 at halftime, Liverpool engaged in its own defensive posture and slowly ate into that deficit throughout the second half.

However, Oswego held on, aided greatly by the work up front by Corrin Conroy, who backed up her 11 points with 14 rebounds. Nikki Carroll had 12 points, including two big free throws that kept her team in front, while Cari Reed had 10 points.

Before all that, Liverpool shut down West Genesee last Tuesday night, pummeling the Wildcats by a score of 51-28.

Already ahead 13-4 through one quarter, the Warriors really settled things by limiting WG to a single free throw in the second period. More than half of the Wildcats’ output came in the fourth quarter, with Liverpool’s starters on the bench.

Colleen Maloney had 15 points, hitting on a trio of 3-pointers. Tyler Ash and Sharon Dennis each had eight points, while Ashleigh Bowers gained seven points.

After a few days to enjoy Christmas, Liverpool goes to the Southern Tier to play in the Maine-Endwell Tournament on Wednesday and Thursday — an event Jamesville-DeWitt, from the Section III ranks, is also a part of.