Coming off a defeat to Nottingham on Jan. 18, the Westhill girls basketball team had to wait nearly a week to get back on the court.
When it did, though, the Warriors, who had fallen to no. 17 in the state Class B rankings, earned back-to-back wins, including Friday night’s tough 57-49 decision over Marcellus.
They had played a similar game on Dec. 13, Westhill trailing in the fourth quarter before rallying late to prevail 47-38. Now, on the Mustangs’ home floor, it proved a bit different.
For much of the night, the Warriors’ defense was solid and consistent, never letting Marcellus put together any sort of scoring burst. Meanwhile, Westhill used a 22-9 second-quarter spurt to take control, and extended its lead to 50-29 before easing up in the final period.
By then, Sam Peebles had put up 19 points to lead both sides, with Anna Ross close behind as she earned 17 points. Delaney Martin got 11 points and Mary Kate Washburn managed eight points.
No one on the Mustangs got close to the totals of Peebles or Ross, as Shelby Nye and Meghan Witkowski managed 10 points apiece, with Molly MacLachlan (eight points) and Nicole Wynne (seven points) close behind.
A night earlier, Westhill rolled past Jordan-Elbridge 79-23, going up 25-6 in the first quarter and then limiting the Eagles to a single free throw in the second period as the margin kept growing.
Ross, in particular, enjoyed the night, outscoring J-E by herself as she managed 26 points. Peebles finished with 13 points, with Martin getting eight points, Meghan Burke a season-best seven points and Washburn six points. Alexis Rouse led J-E with 10 points.
Marcellus played last Tuesday and ended a brief two-game skid as it got past the Hannibal Warriors in a 50-38 decision.
Holding Hannibal to five points in the second quarter, the Mustangs took a 23-15 lead to halftime and nursed it throughout the last two period, led again by Nye, who put up 14 points. Lauren Soule added nine points as MacLachlan contributed nine assists. Erica Balman, back from a knee injury, saw more action and earned five points, with Witkowski earning six points.
Bishop Ludden, on the other hand, did play at home last Tuesday night and took advantage of one scoring slump from Altmar-Parish-Williamstown to prevail over the Rebels 58-50.
Already with a 17-12 lead, the Gaelic Knights made its decisive move in the second quarter, turning to its defense to hold APW to just six points as the margin stretched out to 30-18.
All through the second half, when the Rebels, led by Devin Jones (14 points) and Erin Stever (12 points), tried to fight back, Ludden had a ready answer with its inside game.
Nicole Granteed led with 16 points as Gemma O’Kane turned in one of her best offensive efforts of the season, earning 14 points. Danielle Rauch managed nine points as Stephanie Brazell and Sara Hayes earned seven points apiece.
Solvay could not slow down a Skaneateles side that won its 10th straight game, defeating the Bearcats 52-28. And most of those points came in the latter stages as the Lakers amassed a 43-9 lead in the first three quarters, holding Solvay to a single free throw in the second period.
Kelly Nolan still managed to score 13 points, nearly half the Bearcats’ output, while Chelsie Delperuto had eight points and Gianna Pennisi had seven rebounds. Joanna Dobrovosky, with 12 points, and Nicole Beatson, with 10 points, led a well-balanced Laker attack.
That Skaneateles win streak ended at Cazenovia in a 54-52 overtime decision on Thursday, just as Solvay ran into Bishop Grimes, who won its seventh in a row, 60-30, largely because it outscored the Bearcats 26-4 in a decisive second quarter.
Courtney Napolitano had seven points, six rebounds and four blocks, with Jackie Gardner adding six points and seven rebounds. Jordan Vaught paced the Cobras, earning 17 points.
Ludden, meanwhile, completed a regular-season sweep of Phoenix 58-48 on Friday night, steadily building a 52-27 edge through three quarters before the starters rested. Rauch led with 14 points, with Granteed gaining 13 points and O’Kane earning 10 points.
