For its work during the holiday break, the Oneida girls basketball team participated in the Rome Free Academy Holiday Tournament.
Opening up against St. Mary’s last Friday night, the Indians got off to a nice start, but could not sustain it in a 50-34 defeat.
Oneida had a 12-6 advantage going into the second quarter. The fun ended there, though, as St. Mary’s dominated that period and outscored the Indians 31-8 in the game’s middle stages before things settled down.
Courtney Casler led Oneida with 12 points, half of them successful free throws. Beth Kann had six points, with Erika Newton and Ashley Hillenbrand each earning five points.
Utica Proctor surprised the hosts from RFA 53-49 in the other opening-round game, leaving the Indians to deal with an unhappy group of Black Knights in Saturday’s consolation bracket.
Sure enough, RFA beat Oneida 61-38, a game that turned quickly after the Indians claimed a 13-8 first-quarter lead.
The Black Knights used a 19-3 domination of the second quarter to seize control, then closed the game on a 22-8 run after Oneida hung around for a while.
Kann led her team again, with 14 points. Newton (nine points), Casler (eight points) and Hillenbrand (seven points) got the rest of Oneida’s points. For RFA, Heather Fish (19 points) and Allyson Eggan (17 points) led the way, as teammate Lyndsay Brognano added 12 points.
Oneida, still looking for its first victory this season, took a week off after this tournament and will resume its season next Monday, when New Hartford pays a visit.
