Those struggles of December for the Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team move further and further into the past, replaced by the top form showed by a unit with every intention of maintaining its league and Section III crowns.
But the Red Rams would face a big test last weekend when it went to Utica for the annual Juggler Classic, starting with Saturday’s opening-round game against Troy (Section II), who beat J-D in the 2013 Class A regional round on the way to a state title.
And just like it did two years earlier, the Flying Horses beat J-D, 45-38, in a game where the Rams trailed most of the way and simply could not put together the scoring run it needed, especially since it only was down by three, 32-29, going to the fourth quarter.
No J-D player scored in double figures, though Kasey Vaughan had nine points through a trio of 3-pointers and Alyssa Robens also had nine points. Right behind them, Meg Hair and Maddy Frank had eight points apiece. For Troy, Sabrina Wolfe and Kiana Patterson both got 13 points.
Forced into Sunday’s consolation game against Oneonta (Section IV), who had lost to host Utica-Notre Dame, the Rams made a quick and impressive recovery, just as it had done when it had lost to state Class AA no. 1-ranked Ossining at a tournament in White Plains late in December.
J-D beat the Yellowjackets 56-32, imposing its defensive will by limiting Oneonta to 11 points in the first half as it built a comfortable lead. The offense improved, too, with Robens picking up 13 points and Frank adding 11 points, with Hair (nine points) and Carly O’Hern (eight points) close behind.
This busy stretch commenced with last Tuesday’s visit from Marcellus, who arrived with a 6-2 record and some momentum, but found it quickly dashed during a decisive second quarter as J-D beat the Mustangs 65-33.
Exactly one week earlier, Marcellus had won at Christian Brothers Academy in a 48-45 decision, and the Mustangs started out trying to do the same against the Rams, only trailing by a single point, 12-11, trough one period.
But then J-D smothered Marcellus during that second period, holding them to a single free throw while getting plenty of baskets on the other end during a 17-1 push.
All told, the Rams outscored the Mustangs 36-9 during those middle two periods, and by game’s end all 12 players on the roster had at least one field goal.
Robens, with 12 points, and O’Hern, with 10 points, led another well-balanced effort. Hair had seven points, with Vaughn and Julia Fairbanks each getting six points. Frank and Angela Bussone had five points apiece.
Two nights later, Oswego brought a 6-3 record to J-D, but got the same rough treatment as Marcellus, as a mid-game surge led to a 66-33 victory over the Buccaneers.
Despite strong defense in the early going, the Rams couldn’t get away from Oswego, and the frustration boiled over late in the second quarter when head coach Rob Siechen picked up a rare technical foul.
From that moment on, J-D took over, closing the first half on an 8-0 run for a 28-15 halftime lead, and then outscoring the Bucs 17-4 in the third quarter to put the game away.
Again, the production was spread around. Frank led with 12 points, but Hair (11 points) and Robens (10 points) also reached double figures, with Bussone and O’Hern getting seven points apiece.
Another big game awaits J-D this Saturday night, when it faces Pitttsford Sutherland Section V) in a rematch of last year’s state Class A final at Onondaga Communty College’s Allyn Gym.
