Maybe the Bishop Grimes girls basketball team needs to get tested in order to really bring out its best game.
Faced with a close battle against visiting Cazenovia last Friday night, the Cobras put together a red-hot shooting display late in the first half and pulled away to beat the Lakers 63-43, all part of a busy evening of local games before the holidays.
Grimes found itself at no. 9 in the first state Class B rankings of the season. Cazenovia wasn’t intimidated by this, though, overcoming an early double-digit deficit to tie the game, 24-24, early in the second quarter on hot 3-point shooting from Audrey Burbidge and Kelsi Fredericks.
Yet once the Cobras’ starting five reentered the game, the rout was on. Grimes closed the half on a 20-2 run, mixing in strong inside play with a barrage of 3-pointers, especially from Katy McInerney, who had all 15 of her points from five successful 3-point attempts.
Jordan Vaught led the way with 17 points, while freshman forward Azariah Wade added 14 points. Most of Burbidge’s 14 points came from four successful 3-pointers, but no other Lakers players had more than six points.
Jamesville-DeWitt’s 0-2 start had alarmed some, but not the Red Rams, who calmly made it to the win column by going to Mexico and rolling past the Tigers 59-17.
Those defeats to CBA and Bishop Kearney had angered the Red Rams, and it responded with a tighter defense that forced turnovers and easy baskets on the other end, especially in a 23-2 first-quarter spurt that announced J-D’s intentions.
Meg Hair led with 14 points, while Maddy Frank had nine points, four rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks. Julia Kelner and MaryKate Scheftic each had seven points as Carly O’Hern contributed six points.
CBA, a week removed from that big win over J-D, got another tough victory at home against Oswego, needing big nights from the duo of Natalie Nardella and Julie Cuomo to get a 57-52 victory over the Buccaneers.
The two sides played to a 26-26 first-half draw, but the Brothers’ defense stepped up in the third quarter, holding Oswego to eight points as it moved out in front, and would stay there despite the Bucs’ Marguerite Dillon getting 19 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Nardella, constantly drawing contact, earned 11 of her season-high 21 points at the free-throw line, while Cuomo hit on four 3-pointers to account for most of her 16 points. Rosalee Winderl, with eight points, and Nafysa Williams, with six points, offered adequate support.
East Syracuse-Minoa met Fowler last Thursday and had little trouble defeating the Falcons 49-21 to improve to 4-1 on the season.
Any doubts were quickly erased as ESM outscored Fowler 19-2 in the first quarter. From there, the margin continued to build, with Ashley Scalzo, who scored 15 points, setting the pace. Loren Clifford added 12 points and Athena Thomson added nine points.
More games awaited early the following week, starting on Monday, with CBA getting into another close contest on its home court against Cortland and, again, pulling it out, beating the Purple Tigers 52-49.
Here, Cortland inched out in front early, and still carried a 27-24 lead into halftime. But in the pivotal third quarter, CBA outscored the Purple Tigers 16-9, and then hung on late.
Cuomo’s 17 points included a pair of 3-pointers, with Paige Nicholson becoming a big factor again as she produced 16 points. Nardella added nine points as Shea Swartout (14 points), Jackie Phillips (13 points) and Delaney Marshall (12 points) led a well-balanced Cortland attack.
Then, on Tuesday night, ESM improved to 5-1, fighting past Fulton 42-34 largely due to a defense that held the Red Raiders to four points in the first quarter and five points in the third period, all while building a 34-20 edge that would hold up in the latter stages.
Sydni Eure put together 14 points and six rebounds, with Scalzo adding nine points and Cindy Brownson six points, four rebounds and two assists. Athena Thomason also had six rebounds.
After a week’s rest, Fayetteville-Manlius, playing at West Genesee, dropped a close 40-38 decision to the Wildcats, a game where neither side developed much of a lead, but the Hornets, with a chance to pull it out, managed just five points in the fourth quarter.
D’Jhai Patterson-Ricks led F-M with 14 points, while Elizabeth Hall had a season-best 10 points. Carly Assimon contributed six points as Camryn Chawgo, with 19 points, accounted for nearly half of the Wildcats’ production.
