While the personnel and leadership on the bench may have changed, the Cazenovia girls basketball team still understands what its winning formula contains.
Mostly, that involves lots of effective defense, which was on display Tuesday night during the Lakers’ 39-22 victory over Solvay at refurbished Buckley Gym.
Paul Bedeloff has taken over as head coach, succeeding Steve Miles, who led Cazenovia to two Section III Class B titles and a berth in last March’s state final four in Troy. Bedeloff had to deal with replacing four starters and integrating all sorts of new faces onto the varsity roster.
Yet the Lakers maintained its primary character trait from Miles’ tenure, and that ability to shut down an opponent nearly led to an upset of Cortland in the Dec. 2 opener. Against Solvay, the result would be different.
In the half-court set, Cazenovia used a 2-3 zone, forcing Solvay into outside shots. Any other time, though, it would go into full-court pressure, putting as many as three players on a guard when the dribble stopped.
It didn’t work right away, as the Bearcats closed the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. From there, though, the Lakers held Solvay without a point for more than 14 minutes, a drought that stretched deep into the third period.
Meanwhile, Maggie Carpenter had eight of Cazenovia’s 10 points in the second period to put her side ahead for good. Overall, it was a 16-0 run, and Carpenter finished with 14 points, to go with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Kristie Kleine contributed nine points and five steals, while Courtney Maxwell finished with six points.
Cazenovia had a non-league game at Christian Brothers Academy Thursday night, and while the defense remained solid, the attack was inconsistent in a 47-38 loss to the Brothers.
Slow at the start, the Lakers trailed, 12-3, after one period, but led by Carpenter and Colleen Dougherty, Cazenovia outscored CBA 17-6 the rest of the half to inch into a 20-18 lead.
From there, though, the Lakers slowed down. Other that Carpenter, who finished with 16 points, and Colleen Dougherty, who got eight points, no one had more than Kaitlyn Gerber’s pair of field goals. And CBA’s Marisa Romeo earned most of her 21 points in the second half to help her side move ahead for keeps.
The Lakers (1-2) could still assert itself within OHSL Liberty division play in home games next week against Skaneateles and Bishop Ludden.
