When the Section III Class AA girls basketball playoff pairings were announced Wednesday afternoon, Christian Brothers Academy and Fayetteville-Manlius found themselves together in the same bracket.
Indeed, the no. 2 seed Brothers (16-2) and no. 7 seed Hornets (11-7) are set to square off next Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the AA quarterfinals in the wake of an active closing stretch for both sides.
F-M had two regular-season games to deal with before the playoffs started, including Monday’s long-awaited match with Westhill that nearly turned into a grand triumph before the Warriors pulled it out 48-46.
They were supposed to meet way back on Dec. 22 in the Traci Zimmer Memorial Tournament at Central Square, but it got snowed out, as did a second possible meeting in late January.
At last, things cleared out for last Monday’s encounter, and throughout a low-scoring first half F-M’s tenacious defense made a real difference as it inched into a 20-19 lead.
A big performance from Erika Stube, who had 12 points, kick-started the Hornets as Lauren Getman (12 points) and Madison Beck (11 points) also reached double figures.
F-M led, 34-32, with one period left, but could not hold on as junior Anna Ross keyed Westhill’s comeback. Ross scored 16 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, as she and Sam Peebles (14 points) helped the Warriors move to 16-1.
A night later, the Hornets faced Liverpool, who was still scrambling to try and reach the Class AA playoffs. F-M put an end to those chances, though, as it worked its way to a 50-38 victory.
Through a tightly played first half, neither team lit it up. F-M still moved out in front, though, and then expanded on that 21-18 edge by outscoring Liverpool 16-9 in a pivotal third quarter.
The visitors never caught up as, once more, Beck and Getman carried the Hornets’ offense, Beck finishing with 21 points and Getman adding 18 points. Together, the pair accounted for 12 of the Hornets’ 16 field goals.
As that went on, CBA, rebounding from last Saturday’s defeat to Class A top seed Jamesville-DeWitt, was closing out its regular season by venturing to Mexico and pulling away in the second half to beat the Tigers 57-35.
For a while, Mexico hung around, shrinking the Brothers’ early 17-9 margin to 24-19 by halftime. In the third quarter, though, CBA nearly doubled its total with a 21-point outburst, creating a double-digit margin and breezing from there.
Marisa Romeo led the attack, pouring in 23 points, while Julie Cuomo got 14 points and Natalie Nardella added 13 points.
Shutting them down is F-M’s task on Tuesday as both sides looked to reach a Class AA semifinal late next week against Corcoran or Rome Free Academy.
In the sectional Class B tournament, Bishop Grimes has the no. 6 seed and hosts no. 11 seed General Brown in Friday night’s opening round.
Fresh from last Saturda’s dramatic win over Marcellus that clinched the OHSL Liberty National division regular-season title, Grimes struggled for a while in Monday’s regular-season finale against Hannibal, but took over in the second half to beat the Warriors 54-35.
Short-handed without Teresa Shattuck or Kennedy Yearby (both out due to illness), it got tougher when Jordan Vaught and Tina Hoag both picked up two fouls in the first quarter, allowing Hannibal to forge an 11-11 tie mostly through converting free throws.
Vaught went back out there late in the second quarter and quickly got seven points, helping the Cobras inch to a 29-25 halftime lead. Then Grimes’ defense clamped down, blanking the Warriors for a long portion of the second half during a decisive 18-0 run.
Both Vaught and Alex Guhin finished with 12 points, Vaught adding five rebounds and six assists, while Megan Driscoll made three 3-pointers to account for most of her 11 points. Katrina Fandrich and Megan Costello had five points apiece. Devin Sorrell, with 18 points, led Hannibal’s effort.
