With its 6-2 record going into the week, and a big road win at CBA under its belt, the Marcellus girls basketball team may have felt that it was starting to climb the ladder and push toward the top of the Class A ranks.
If so, sober reality struck in the middle of last Tuesday’s game at Jamesville-DeWitt, where the Red Rams, a state Class A finalist a year ago with most of its lineup back, smothered the Mustangs in the second and third periods and eventually prevailed by a score of 65-33.
The trip to J-D came exactly a week after that 48-45 win at CBA, and when the Mustangs played the Rams on even terms during the first quarter, only trailing 12-11, it looked like it could hang tough.
But then the Rams held Marcellus to a single free throw in a 17-1 second-quarter blitz, ultimately outscoring them 36-9 in the middle two periods, far more than the Mustangs could overcome.
Liz White still managed 13 points, including three 3-pointers, but no other Marcellus player had more than the five points put up by Eve Hughes. J-D saw 12 different players get at least one field, with Alyssa Robens (12 points) and Carly O’Hern (10 points) leading the deep, well-balanced attack.
Marcellus would try to bounce back Friday night, against Homer, and would do so, beating the Trojans 56-42. A 19-10 first-quarter burst was followed up by the Mustangs holding Homer to seven points in the third quarter to pull further away.
Erica Balman managed a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, adding five blocks. Morgan DeLand had 13 points and six rebounds, with White getting eight points, four assists and six rebounds as Rylie Spicer contribute six points.
Jordan-Elbridge carried a 2-8 record into last Tuesday night’s game against visiting Solvay, but found some inspiration in front of the home fans to rally for a 54-47 victory over the Bearcats.
All through the first half, Solvay’s defense contained the Eagles, but it could not pull always, only taking a 24-17 lead to the break. Throughout the third quarter, J-E chipped away at that deficit, and then took over in the final period, outscoring the Bearcats 20-11 to pull it out.
Alexis Braun led the Eagles’ comeback, pouring in 20 points. Bailey Van Gardon earned all of her 12 points from four successful 3-pointers, while Emily Somes managed nine points and Allison Jennings produced seven points.
On Solvay’s side, Chelsie Delperuto finished with 17 points, just ahead of Victoria Young, who gained 16 points. Jackie Gardner contributed seven points.
Looking to bounce back against Phoenix two nights later, the Bearcats could not quite pull it off, falling to the Firebirds 59-52 in a game where it led, 29-23, at halftime, only to wear down late as Phoenix outscored them 22-11 in the fourth quarter to pull out in front.
Aleah Yaizzo had 13 points, finishing ahead of Gardner (11 points) and Delperuto (10 points), while Gianna Pennisi had six points, but none of them could match the work of the Firebirds’ Samantha Doupe, who led her team’s comeback with 26 points, adding eight steals and three rebounds.
West Genesee played last Wednesday night, unable to catch up to Rome Free Academy as it fell to the Black Knights 49-40.
With a 10-1 record coming into the game, RFA mostly leaned on its defense to stifle the Wildcats, holding them to less than 10 points in each of the first three periods while steadily building a 40-26 lead through three periods.
Despite a late surge led by Lauren Bakowski (10 points) and Camryn Chawgo (eight points), WG saw the Black Knights stay in front, led by Tiana Pugh, who had 16 points and six rebounds, and Tricia Loso, who added 15 points.
But the Wildcats rebounded Friday to win a tough 29-27 decision over Fayetteville-Manlius, a game that was tied, 27-27, in the closing seconds when Chawgo was fouled on a 3-point attempt.
Chawgo calmly made two of the three ensuing foul shots, and when F-M’s D’Jhai Patterson-Ricks saw her tying attempt roll off the rim at the buzzer, WG had held on in a game where it scored just one point in the second quarter and trailed, 25-21, after three periods. Sierra Smith, with 12 points, led the Wildcats’ rally.
