With their first head-to-head meeting in the books, the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool girls basketball teams went in separate directions – and had separate results.
Having fallen to the no. 10 spot in the state Class AA rankings despite some recent wins, the Northstars were back in top form during last Tuesday night’s home game against Nottingham, breezing to a 71-25 victory over the Bulldogs.
Strong on both ends of the floor, C-NS sprinted to a 21-6 first-quarter lead, and then outscored Nottingham 18-2 the rest of the half to make it 39-8 at the break.
Nine different Northstars notched field goals, but it was Beth Bonin leading the way, draining a career-best six 3-pointers to account for most of her 22 points.
Amani Free worked inside for 11 points, while McKayla Roberts (who missed a game against West Genesee on Jan. 9) finished with nine points. Jada Kims earned eight points, with Marissa Felasco (six points) and Samantha Tortora (five points) close behind.
C-NS also would handle Henninger on Friday night in an 84-21 romp, outscoring the Black Knights 29-4 in the first quarter to set the tone for the rest of the game.
All 10 players on the roster scored at least three points, but none had more than Roberts and Tortora, who had 14 points apiece. Bonin, with 13 points, and Free, with 11 points, also hit double figures, with Kims earning all seven of her points at the free-throw line. Mackenzie O’Hara also had seven points as Norris earned six points.
Liverpool was back on the court on that same Friday night against Auburn, putting up one of its biggest point totals of the season, but still dropping a 68-58 decision to the Maroons.
Ultimately, the Warriors played for a poor first half on the first half on the defensive side as Auburn sprinted out to a 40-21 halftime lead, led by Anna Giannone, who would finish with 25 points, 11 assists and eight steals. Casey Gray added 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Shaelynn Freeman had 16 points and five rebounds.
Battling to the end, the Warriors closed the gap in the fourth quarter, but it proved too late as Jenna Wike’s 22 points included a trio of 3-pointers. Donyai Starling had 10 points, with Laura Patulski adding eight points and Katie Yudin earning six points.