Patient scheduling kept the Marcellus girls basketball team from getting on the court for real until Friday night’s game against visiting Chittenango. But when it finally started, the Mustangs were ready for it, especially on the defensive side, and that helped produce a comfortable 49-27 victory over the Bears. After last season’s first-round Section III Class B playoff elimination by Westhill, Marcellus did plenty of work in the off-season, and then had nearly five weeks of practice to get everything into place before Chittenango visited. So when it took the court, the Mustangs wasted little time establishing itself on the defensive side, nearly blanking the Bears in the first quarter and establishing a 14-4 advantage. Any doubts about the outcome were erased during a 16-7 third-quarter push, during which the entire offensive rotation contributed. Erica Balman led with 14 points, with Tessa Mosher adding nine points and Eve Hughes eight points. Shannon White had seven points, while Morgan DeLand (six points) and Liz White (five points) accounted for the rest of the production. By contrast, Solvay had started its season back on Nov. 25 with a win over Chittenango. Two straight losses followed, but the Bearcats ended that skid against Jordan-Elbridge Friday night as an astonishing effort from Chelsie Delperuto helped produce a 50-38 win over the Eagles. The pattern was established at the outset. J-E would bring the ball up the court, and within seconds Delperuto had her hands on it, her thefts helping Solvay streak to a 21-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. For the rest of the night, the Bearcats nursed that double-digit lead, in large part because Delperuto could not help from grabbing the ball over and over. By the time it was done, Delperuto had set a school record with an astonishing 16 steals. As if that wasn’t enough, Delperuto also grabbed 13 rebounds and nine points. This overshadowed the work of Jackie Gardner (13 points, four rebounds, three assists), Taylor Marcott (nine points, six rebounds) and Kara DeGonzaque (eight points, five rebounds). Jordan Micheletti added seven rebounds and Gianna Pennisi six rebounds. J-E, despite all of the turnovers, still got 12 points apiece from Katie Goodrich and Emily Somes, with Allison Jennings adding eight points. Earlier in the week, the Eagles, looking for its second win of the season, was close against Cato-Meridian going to the fourth quarter, only to see it fall apart late in a 52-37 defeat to the Blue Devils. Trailing 19-11 at halftime, the Eagles saw its offense spring to life in the third quarter, where it outscored Cato 17-9 to forge a 28-28 tie. Emily Somes led the way, eventually putting up 20 points as Kyhjra Boothman (eight points) and Emily Klock (six points) offered help. Just as quickly, though, the Blue Devils regained control, dominating the final period behind Abigail Wilkinson, who finished with 19 points, and Payton Noeller, who added 11 points and eight rebounds. Allison Hallett contributed 13 rebounds.