In the curious case of the Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team, what cannot be argued is that it has tested itself whenever it has taken the court in the early portion of the 2014-15 season.
The Red Rams were 1-2 when it went to the Slam Dunk Tournament at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, and promptly got run over by defending state Class AA champion Ossining in the Dec. 28 opening round, falling to the Pride 71-32.
Ossinning has produced, among others, current Connecticut basketball player Soniya Chong, and the Pride, who beat Cicero-North Syracuse in last year’ state AA final in Troy, pounced on J-D early, building a 40-19 halftime lead and continuing to roll the rest of the way.
J-D mostly found it difficult to navigate through Ossining’s defensive pressure, committing 39 turnovers. Only Carly O’Hern, with 10 points, got to double figures. Meg Hair and Maddy Frank each had six points as Ossining star Jalay Knowles led her wide with 27 points and seven rebounds.
Forced into the consolation round a day later, the Rams also found itself trailing Albany High (Section II) going into the fourth quarter before a late surge helped J-D pull out a 51-41 victory over the Falcons.
During a back-and-forth first half, the Rams erased a 15-8 deficit and went in front, 23-19, only to see Albany regain the lead before J-D took over in those final minutes.
Hair led the comebacks, putting up a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, plus four assists and three steals. Kasey Vaughan stepped up with 11 points, while Alyssa Robens had seven points, eight rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals.
Returning to Central New York with a 2- 3 mark, J-D resumes league play next Tuesday at East Syracuse-Minoa before hosting Fulton on Jan. 9.
