Before it got too late, the Bishop Ludden girls basketball team just may have started to rescue its season.
A key in that process was Friday night’s game against Marcellus, where the Gaelic Knights played a superb first half on both ends, and then held on to beat the Mustangs 54-47.
Big defensive pressure affected Marcellus early, Ludden only allowing a handful of field goals as, with a steady attack, it gained a 25-15 edge going into halftime. And the margin grew to 41-27 before the Mustangs made a belated fourth-quarter push.
Nicole Granteed had much to do with this success, as she poured in 23 points, including seven successful free throws. Gemma O’Kane set a season mark, too, as she got 14 points, which kept the Mustangs from focusing its defense on Granteed. Sara Hayes added eight points.
Lauren Soule, in defeat, paced Marcellus with 13 points. Molly MacLachlan managed 11 points, while Meghan Witkowski and Morgan DeLand each had eight points.
This followed Ludden’s 48-33 victory over Corning on Dec. 28. The Gaelic Knights dominated most of the way, building a 45-19 lead through three periods as Kelly Granteed stepped up for 16 points. Nicole Granteed got 15 points and Stephanie Brazell had a season-best 12 points.
Two days before facing Ludden, Marcellus had seen its six-game win streak ended at Liverpool, where two long droughts would prove too difficult to overcome in a 43-30 defeat to the Warriors.
For a while, it appeared that the Mustangs would meet the challenge of its Class AA foe, surrendering just four points in the first quarter – but only scoring six in the face of Liverpool’s defensive pressure.
Things picked up the rest of the half, but the Warriors sneaked in front, 17-15, just before the break, and proceeded to hold Marcellus to a pair of field goals in the third quarter.
Stretched out over two periods, the Mustangs got outscored 23-7. No Marcellus player scored in double figures as Tessa Mosher led with eight points, while Molly MacLachlan got seven points. Meghan Witkowski and Rylie Spicer each got six points. Liverpool’s Rachael Windhausen led both sides with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Solvay also tumbled back in the wake of its own tournament title, shut down by a rested, refreshed Skaneateles side in last Thursday night’s 49-22 defeat.
Against a Lakers side that hadn’t played in two weeks, Solvay managed just a few field goals in the first quarter – and nothing for the rest of the half, blanked in the second period as the Lakers’ defense proved stifling.
Trailing 23-7 at the break, the Bearcats never recovered, despite Julie Gardner eventually picking up 10 points and Chelsie Delperuto adding seven points. Elizabeth Lane, with 13 points, and Joanna Dobrovosky, with 10 points, led the Lakers’ efforts.
