For two full weeks following its lopsided 54-34 defeat to Cazenovia on Dec. 20, the Skaneateles girls basketball team took turns resting and enjoying the holidays, but also engaging in enough practice to keep sharp.

The Lakers also stewed about the way things had gone wrong at Cazenovia – and by the time it finally returned to the court for Thursday night’s game at Solvay, it was more than ready.

What resulted was a defensive masterpiece, as Skaneateles forced the Bearcats into a long drought that stretched from the first quarter to the third quarter, which led to a 49-22 victory.

It helped, no doubt, that Skaneateles was back at full strength, Mary Buck returning from the ankle injury that kept her out late in December, including the Cazenovia loss.

Neither side produced that much at the start, but somewhere the Lakers’ defensive pressure began to take a toll on the Bearcats.

In fact, Solvay did not record a point in the entire second quarter, allowing Skaneateles to jump out to a 22-7 edge, from which it would not get caught, even as the Bearcats broke the drought.

Buck, in her return, had eight points. Elizabeth Lane led with 13 points, while Joanna Dobrovosky worked inside for 10 points and Sarah Tomlinson came off the bench for seven points.

This win moved the Lakers’ mark to 6-2. It passes the halfway point of the regular season this week, hosting Hannibal on Tuesday before a key game Thursday at Bishop Grimes.