Moving up to the no. 3 spot in the state Class B rankings, and still undefeated after its narrow 50-49 escape against Bishop Kearney on Jan. 10, the Bishop Grimes girls basketball team looked forward to less stressful encounters against OHSL Liberty division foes.
The Cobras hosted Altmar-Parish-Williamstown last Wednesday night, a game that was quite unpolished on the offensive end, but Grimes’ defense more than made up for it, setting the tempo in a 47-23 win over the Rebels that made it 11 in a row.
Constant pressure didn’t hurt APW right away, but after gaining a modest 10-6 lead by the end of the first quarter, the Cobras made its lone big run in the second period, getting 13 straight points and outscoring the Rebels 22-6 in that frame.
From there, it got quieter, but Jordan Vaught still finished with 12 points. Katy McInerney and Bridget Squier each had seven points, while Azariah Wade and Marissa Hartley had six points apiece. For APW, DeShae Jones (10 points) and Kylee Barlett (eight points) accounted for most of the offense.
Now the Cobras made up its postponed Jan. 8 home date with Bishop Ludden on Friday night. Going for a season sweep, Grimes attained it, getting off to a perfect start and sustaining that effort throughout a 63-31 victory over the Gaelic Knights.
A series of turnovers forced by Grimes’ press led to a series of baskets on the other end, and the Cobras led 21-0 before the game was five minutes old, and 29-6 at the end of the period, Vaught and Wade having scored 21 of those points.
Somehow, Ludden played the rest of the first half on even terms, but the damage was rendered. Vaught finished with 19 points, while Wade piled up 16 points and 13 rebounds and McInerney added nine points. Danielle Rauch led Ludden with 13 points.
East Syracuse Minoa and Christian Brothers Academy met each other Friday night, and one big opening run was all the Brothers needed to defeat the Spartans 40-28.
During the first quarter, CBA was hot from the field, and ESM didn’t make much, translating into a 19-2 margin that the Spartans spent the rest of the night trying to reduce.
Julie Cuomo, who had returned to the CBA lineup earlier in the week, led her side with 15 points. Rosalee Winderl (nine points), Nafysa Williams (eight points) and Natalie Nardella (seven points) all got close to double figures. Most of ESM’s production came in the late going, with Sydni Eure earning 16 points.
Both sides had played on Tuesday, with CBA defeating Mexico 48-23 and ESM taking a 37-31 defeat to Cortland.
Cuomo had missed several games, and the Brothers welcomed back her production following a first half where it squandered a modest lead to the Tigers and went to the break with a 16-16 tie.
CBA, angry by how it played early, proceeded to dominate the second half, and Cuomo, with 11 points, led the way as Paige Nicholson added nine points, Willaims eight points and WInderl seven points. Amylyn Holland led Mexico with eight points.
Meanwhile, ESM would play strong defense for long stages of its game with Cortland, but not get rewarded for it. Trailing 11-9 after one period, it held the Purple Tigers to 14 points in the next two quarters, but only got 15 points of its own.
And Cortland, behind 19 points from Shea Swartout and 10 points from Jackie Phillips, pulled away in the final minutes, while the Spartans had just one player, Eure, reach double figures with 11 points. Danielle Yates added nine points.
Without any rest, CBA had to go north to face unbeaten, state Class A no. 4-ranked Indian River on Saturday afternoon, trying to avenge a 54-40 defeat to the Warriors on Dec. 5.
But it didn’t happen, IR riding a big first half to a 47-29 victory, its 11th in a row. The Warriors limited the Brothers to three points in the first quarter and produced plenty, too, not letting up until CBA was staring at a 36-15 halftime deficit.
Never able to get its offense on track, the Brothers still saw Williams score 10 points and Cuomo add six points. IR featured 12 points from Paige Leonard and 10 points and six rebounds from Talicia Jackson, which made up for CBA’s defense holding Kammikia Barnes to five points.
