Even at this point, no one can tell, for sure, whether the Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team is bound for post-season glory.
But if the Red Rams do find it, it might look back to last Wednesday night’s 70-50 road victory over Cortland as a moment where all the pieces started to fit together.
These same two teams had met Dec. 7, a tight contest where J-D pulled it out at home behind Amanda Koenck’s late offensive heroics. With the Rams 12-2 and the Purple Tigers 11-3, the rematch was expected to be just as close.
Right away, though, J-D wrote a different script. It seemed to score at will in the first quarter and put suffocating defensive pressure on Shannon Finucane and the other Cortland guards, leading to turnovers and more baskets on the other end.
By the time they reached the second quarter, the Rams had a 25-8 lead. And even if that standard of perfection did not linger, J-D remained in control, never letting Cortland get too close the rest of the way.
Each of the Rams’ stars was quite productive. Brittany Cohen earned 18 points, while Koenck hit a trio of 3-pointers to finish with 17 points and forward Danielle Weekes also finished with 17 points.
Cortland’s top players could not keep up, as Fawn Lolar had 16 points, Finucane got 13 points and Amanda Lawlor had to settle for nine points.
Now the trick for J-D, when it plays again Friday against Phoenix, is to not get caught looking ahead to next Wednesday night’s trip to CBA which is likely to determine the OHSL Freedom division championship.
