Danielle Rauch’s ankle healed enough to return to action for the Bishop Ludden girls basketball team just in time for last Monday night’s showdown with Bishop Grimes, and her presence brought instant energy to both her teammates and the home crowd. What it couldn’t do, though, was help the Gaelic Knights break the hold of a stifling Cobras defense that controlled matters from start to finish, handing Ludden a 46-23 defeat that began a rough week for the girls in green. Grimes’ season had started Dec. 5 with a 45-34 victory at Westhill, its first over the Warriors in more than a quarter-century. Now, in the same neighborhood, the Cobras started to take charge of one of its other main rivalries. Ludden had started 1-1, with a win over Skaneateles and a loss to Corcoran. But those were done without Rauch, who was back in uniform on this night, but sat out the first half, watching as her Gaelic Knights teammates hung around as long as it could despite prolonged droughts. For example, Ludden did not get a basket in the game’s first five-plus minutes, until Olivia Trunfio hit a 3-pointer. Grimes couldn’t take full advantage, missing on all kinds of outside shots, and only led by a 12-8 margin early in the second quarter. Using 11 players in its rotation, the Cobras continued to pound away at the Gaelic Knights, no matter who had the ball. Another Ludden scoring drought of more than three minutes helped assure that cold-shooting Grimes stayed in front, with a 17-10 edge at the break. But if the Cobras needed any extra motivation, it came when the fiery Rauch entered the game early in the third quarter, to the loud cheers of Ludden’s student section. Even Rauch’s presence, though, could not keep Grimes from blanking Ludden for the last 7:19 of that period, during which time frustrations boiled over for the Gaelic Knights and its head coach, Jerry Roesch, picked up a technical foul. While Grimes never really heated up, it did enough to go on a 14-0 run that stretched into the final period, putting the game out of reach. About the only way Ludden could make up for this defeat was to defeat its neighbors from Westhill on Friday night, but even that didn’t work as the Warriors, trying to bounce back from a 1-2 start, took a big step forward by beating the Gaelic Knights 47-41. Just as in its game with Grimes, Ludden would pay for a poor start, seeing Westhill hit on a series of early baskets to jump out to a 15-6 first-quarter lead. Though the Warriors cooled down the rest of the half, it still carried a 21-13 lead to the break. As the second half wore on, Ludden’s inside-outside duo of Hayes and Rauch tried to create a comeback. Hayes poured in 19 points, even hitting on a 3-poitner, while Rauch, in her first start of the season, chimed in with 14 points. Westhill’s defense held the rest of the Gaelic Knights to just three combined field goals, though, and had its own scoring standouts to help hang on to the win. Mary Kate Washburn put up 20 points, while Delaney Martin managed 14 points, and they got support from Mackenzie Martin and Katelyn Karleski, who had six points apiece.