Not until the last full week of the regular season could the Cazenovia girls basketball team breathe a bit easier, knowing that it will have some part in the Section III Class B playoffs.
The Lakers were only 7-9 with two games left, and needed to win either one of them to secure that post-season berth. At Jordan-Elbridge last Thursday night, Cazenovia took care of that problem, dominating the first half and breezing to a 49-32 victory over the Eagles.
Leaning on its defense, the Lakers never let J-E get many open looks, forcing a series of turnovers throughout the first half. Some of those mistakes led to baskets, and Cazenovia gradually built up a margin, going to halftime with a 30-11 lead.
Even as J-E woke up a bit in the third quarter, it could not eat into that deficit, the Lakers extending its margin to 44-22 so it could relax a bit the rest of the way and not get hurt much.
Audrey Burbidge led the charge, picking up 13 points. Maggie Johnson managed eight points, while Kate Sullivan stepped up and matched Kelsi Fredericks, each of them finishing with six points, as Danielle Tedesco added five points. Alexis Rouse led J-E with nine points.
If the Lakers can win at Hannibal in next Tuesday’s regular-season finale, it gets the .500 mark and perhaps improves its seeding for the Class B sectional tournament that tips off on Feb. 14.
