Still unblemished within the Center State Conference, the Hamilton girls basketball team won its 2011 curtain-raiser Tuesday night, going to Rome Catholic and beating the Red Wings 60-48.
Mostly, Rome Catholic kept up until the third quarter, when the Emerald Knights, led by Katie and Lauren Weeks, went on a 19-7 run to build a 49-31 lead. Thus, it was able to withstand the Red Wings’ late push.
With Jordan Peterson plagued by foul trouble and held to 11 points, Katie Weeks set a season mark with 24 points, while Lauren Weeks did the same on her way to 14 points for the night. Between them, the Weeks sisters hit on eight 3-pointers – Katie five, Lauren three.
Peterson would see much more action 24 hours later, against Sauquoit Valley – and the Emerald Knights benefited to the tune of a 67-28 romp over the Indians.
By herself, Peterson matched Sauquoit with 28 points, including a pair of 3-pointers as the Emerald Knights outscored the Indians in every single period. Sara Whyatt stepped up, too, earning 12 points as Katie Weeks got 10 points and Lauren Weeks nine points, the pair combining for five 3-point field goals to give them 13 in two days.
Canastota, who entered 2011 with a 2-4 mark, met Camden Monday in a non-league game and saw a late lead get away in a 56-51 loss to the Blue Devils.
For much of the game, the Raiders were effective containing Camden’s top player, Lindsay Jones, who set a school record with 48 points in a Dec. 17 loss to Vernon-Verona-Sherrill.
Still, Jones finished with 19 points, five of them coming on late free throws as the Blue Devils inched in front for good after the two sides exchanged the lead all night.
Shea Foster, with 20 points, was the night’s top individual scorer. Ally Bernier finished with 12 points, while Alexis Hayes picked up six points.
A day later, the Raiders bounced back to beat Sauquoit Valley 30-27. With the game in doubt, Havens hit two free throws to push her team ahead, and Bernier contributed her own clutch foul shots with 17 seconds left, which were her only points of the night.
This allowed Canastota to avoid seeing a 19-13 halftime lead disappear, as Havens led the Raiders with nine points and Lindsay McGinley contributed eight points.
Morrisville-Eaton returned on Tuesday, beating Cincinnatus 42-29. a 13-2 domination of the second quarter allowed the Warriors to overcome the Lions’ early 10-8 edge, and the margin grew to 34-18 at one point. Leigha Morris, with 20 points, accounted for nearly half of M-E’s offense.
