With each game, and with each victory, the Skaneateles girls basketball team is quickly putting its 0-2 start far behind them as it continued to build momentum toward 2014.
Having just given head coach Jill Blasi her 100th career win (against Cazenovia on Dec. 12), the Lakers went to Hannibal last Tuesday night and, led by Elizabeth Lane and Joanna Dobrovosky, pushed past the Warriors 52-36.
It didn’t take long for Skaneateles to get comfortable on Hannibal’s home court, sprinting out to a 17-8 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Hannibal, to its credit, limited the damage in the game’s middle stages, and crept within six, 38-32, going to the fourth quarter, only to wear down in the face of the Lakers’ relentless defensive pressure and manage just four points in that last frame.
Meanwhile, Lane hit on all kinds of shots on her way to a season-best 21 points. Dobrovosky was right behind, managing 16 points, as the pair managed to outscore Hannibal’s entire roster. Sarah Tomlinson (six points), Nicole Beatson (five points) and Molly Wood (four points) offered solid support.
This was just the first of five consecutive road games for the Lakers, which continued Thursday night at Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, where much the same thing happened as it did with Hannibal, Skaneateles getting a triple-double from Dobrovosky as it topped the Rebels 48-37.
It really wasn’t as close as it turned out. Right from the start, Skaneateles, with its defense, kept APW from establishing any sort of rhythm, and again gained a comfortable 16-4 edge in the first quarter.
The Rebels settled down the rest of the half, but Skaneateles settled matters with a 17-8 third-quarter blitz that made it 42-21, and it didn’t let up until Dobrovosky had managed to accumulate 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks.
All of that work freed things up for Beatson, who stepped up to score 18 points, and Lane, who earned half of her 14 points at the free-throw line. Erin Stever led APW with nine points.
Now armed with a four-game win streak, Skaneateles will play next Friday and Saturday in the Fabius-Pompey Tournament, and then rest for nearly two weeks before resuming league play Jan. 9 at Jordan-Elbridge.
