At the moment, the Fayetteville-Manlius girls basketball team remains stuck in a position where it can beat most of the Class AA competition, but cannot break through against an elite opponent.
That held up again last Friday night when, despite being on its home floor, the Hornets could not prevent Cicero-North Syracuse from taking firm control and prevailing by a score of 58-34.
For the most part, F-M did a solid job keeping CNS from getting many open outside looks, holding guard Marybeth Egan to just four points.
But the Northstars’ inside game proved quite effective, as 6-3 freshman center Breanna Stewart gained 19 points and fellow forward Shannon Hickin had 10 points.
Meanwhile, F-M saw its own top player, Torie Lee, struggle throughout the night, getting just six points as teammate Morgan Axenfeld managed just one field goal. Despite 12 points from Emily Trapani and 11 points from Katie Sager, the Hornets could not overcome that issue.
CNS started to pull clear in the second quarter when it outscored F-M 11-4. From there, the margin remained stable until a closing 18-7 push helped the Northstars improve to 11-1 on the season.
Following the loss to CNS, the Hornets make a trip Tuesday to West Genesee, and meets another of those elite foes Friday when it hosts defending Class AA champion Corcoran.
