Both the Marcellus and Skaneateles girls basketball teams went north to play in Phoenix’s eighth annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, where all proceeds benefited the American Cancer Society.
In Friday’s opening round, Marcellus returned Melissa Lee to the lineup after a one-game absence — but it was Megan Tock stealing the spotlight in a 38-25 victory over the host Phoenix Firebirds.
Defensively, the Mustangs held Phoenix to a single point in the second quarter on its way to a 20-10 halftime edge. Tock helped Marcellus stay in front by working her way to 16 points, while Lee had six points. Kaylee May led the Firebirds with just seven points.
This led to Saturday’s final, against Auburn, where a rough start cost the Mustangs in a 48-39 loss to the Maroons.
All Marcellus could manage was eight points in the first half, something it spent the rest of the game trying to atone for.
Kate Gosson, with 15 points, and Lee, with 10 points, led the comeback attempt, but Auburn’s Kelly Grinnell had 23 points, 11 of them free throws, to keep her team in front and earn tournament MVP honors.
Playing in that same Coaches vs. Cancer event, Skaneateles went 0-2 at the tail end of a week where it played four times in six days.
Emily Call picked up 11 points in a 51-24 opening-round defeat to Auburn, and while the consolation game against Phoenix proved closer, the Lakers still fell to the Firebirds 49-45.
Call hit four 3-pointers in the Phoenix game, improving to 17 points, while Katherine Pille earned 12 points and Jackie Leslie added nine points. Still, Phoenix kept a small lead most of the afternoon as Mary Bergman earned 13 points and Kaylee May added 12 points.
