When the Marcellus girls basketball team built its mark to 8-5 with a mid-season surge, the only question left was whether it had enough game to challenge the OHSL Liberty division’s upper echelon.
At first, the answer wasn’t great, as the Mustangs fell to Cazenovia 60-33 last Wednesday night. But at Bishop Ludden two nights later, Marcellus completely turned things around, getting a terrific team effort to beat the Gaelic Knights 61-54.
Ignoring Ludden’s 6-2 league record and an early deficit, Marcellus began to assert itself in the second quarter, outscoring the Gaelic Knights 18-10 to take a 31-26 lead.
Just as importantly, the Mustangs’ defense contained Ludden’s most dangerous outside shooter. Ashley Cianfriglia had 30 points in her previous outing against Jordan-Elbridge, but Marcellus held her to just six points here.
Despite this, the Gaelic Knights tied the game 41-41 going into the fourth quarter. Instead of buckling, though, Marcellus had an emphatic answer, hitting all the key shots down the stretch as it won the final period 20-13 to prevail.
Depth proved important, as six different Marcellus players had at least six points, while just five Ludden players scored at all.
Kate Gosson set a season mark with 17 points. Melissa Lee picked up 10 points, while Lyssa Filtch and Megan Tock each had nine points, Tock getting all her offense from a trio of 3-pointers. Marie Temara and Emily Hunt earned six points apiece.
Ludden lost despite Michelle Roesch (21 points), Bella Knapp (13 points) and Kayla Kibling (11 points) all hitting double figures.