Taking an enormous first step to reach the top of the OHSL Freedom American division, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team went to Cortland Tuesday night and held off the Purple Tigers by a score of 43-39.
Going in, the main anticipation surrounded the clash between the Red Rams’ swarming defense and Cortland’s all-star senior forward, Maggie Brown, who had passed the 1,000-point mark earlier this season.
For much of the night, J-D won that battle, controlling the tempo and scraping its way to a 24-20 halftime lead. Not content with that, the Rams held Cortland to just four points in the third period and doubled its margin to 32-24.
J-D would need that cushion as Brown led a furious late Purple Tigers surge, eventually finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and three assists. But the Rams were so effective on everyone else that Brown’s teammates had just six combined field goals, one less than Brown herself.
The Rams were much more balanced. Kayleigh Cavanaugh had a career-best 10 assists to go with 11 points and five rebounds, while Cydney Goodrum managed 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Lauren Beville also stood out as she amassed eight points, six rebounds and seven assists, with Katie Maroney adding nine points and Stephanie Mannion five points.
On the same night, Christian Brothers Academy hosted East Syracuse-Minoa and received quite a challenge, but Marisa Romeo helped her side push past the Spartans 66-52 for its third win in a row.
In truth, the first quarter was quite decisive. Before ESM could settle down, the Brothers raced to a 19-9 lead. The Spartans did cut the margin to 32-27 by halftime, but the rally ran out of steam in the second half as, steadily, CBA pulled away.
A lot of that involved Romeo gaining inside position and converting. She finished with 27 points, on nine field goals and nine successful free throws. Kelsey Johnson, meanwhile, cleaned up the boards, amassing 16 rebounds to go with her 12 points as Michelle Wiese contributed 13 points.
ESM’s Rebecca Nelson hit on a trio of 3-pointers on her way to 15 points, with Julie Maselli adding 14 points and Hailee DeForge (11 points) also getting into double figures
