Though in different classes with different sets of foes, the Jamesville-DeWitt and Fayetteville-Manlius girls basketball teams both found themselves confronting the same issue during last weekend’s 18th annual J-D Tip-off Tournament.
Namely, it was how anyone could Oswego. Neither the Hornets nor the Red Rams could do so, as the Buccaneers easily lay claim to the tournament title one year after J-D kept it from them in an overtime duel.
F-M, coming off an opening 54-51 win over Maine-Endwell, took the first jab at Oswego, which proved to be a feeble one as the Bucs parlayed a near-perfect start to a 62-44 victory over the Buccaneers.
All through the first quarter, F-M watched as Oswego used precision passes to set up back-door baskets and open 3-point shots, all of which seemed to go in.
At one point early in the second quarter, the Hornets were down 24-5, and while it would fight back within 10 (33-23) by halftime, the Bucs would take control again in the third quarter and not let go.
Playing all 32 minutes, the Hornets’ Torie Lee finished with 17 points, while Emily Trapani added 12 points. No other F-M player had more than five points.
Oswego’s Cari Reed proved unstoppable, with 25 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists. And when she hit a free throw late in the first half, Reed (who is going to the University of New Hampshire next fall) passed 1,000 career points.
Saturday’s final would pit Oswego against the hosts from J-D, who reached that point by handling Oneida 53-28 in the other opening-round affair for its third win in a row.
The Red Rams buried the Indians with a 35-11 first-half push, with Alyssa Gratien hitting four 3-pointers on her way to 20 points for the night. Jessica Kramer added 11 points.
As it turned out, J-D, like F-M, could do little against Oswego, as the title game was settled 59-23 in the Bucs’ favor.
It was 25-4 after one period, and the rest proved to be anticlimactic as Reed (the tournament MVP, Lauren Hunt and Brooke Reifinger each had 11 points. Kramer (seven points) was J-D’s top scorer.
F-M would snag third place by dominating Oneida 50-18 in the consolation game. By herself, Lee, with 20 points, outscored the entire Indians’ roster as Trapani contributed 13 points.
For the Hornets, coming off last year’s 12-9 campaign and a Class AA quarterfinal exit at the hands of CBA, the new season brought a chance at improving that mark.
And F-M started on the right note, taking on Maine-Endwell (Section IV) at home last Tuesday night and earning a 54-51 victory.
Charging out of the gate, the Hornets produced a 19-10 first-quarter lead, then spent the rest of the night fending off all of Maine-Endwell’s charges at them.
Lee, with 19 points, set a strong pace, but got plenty of help along the way from her fellow Hornet veterans. Katie Sager had 11 points, while Trapani earned 10 points and Morgan Axenfeld got nine points.
As this was going on, J-D was improving to 2-0 on its home court in a decisive manner, ripping past Fulton by a score of 68-40.
In a furious first half, the Red Rams ran past the Red Raiders and lit up board, especially in a 25-point second quarter which produced a 41-16 edge by the time they reached the break.
Gratien got 17 points, 11 of them from successful free throws. Theresa Hernandez had 10 points as Kramer (nine points), Nicole Ortega (eight points), Molly Maroney (seven points) and Chayla Love (six points) made solid contributions, too.
J-D took a 3-1 record to East Syracuse-Minoa Tuesday night before a Thursday trip to West Genesee and a Saturday game at Pittsford-Sutherland as part of the Syracuse/Rochester Challenge. F-M (2-1) plays just once this week, hosting Auburn.
