Now the Bishop Grimes girls basketball team might have a bit more than the Section III Class B and state titles down the road on its agenda.
There’s a real chance the Cobras could sit atop the state Class B rankings at some point before the season ends. A steady climb up the state poll has now put the Cobras in the no. 2 spot, trailing only Irvington, who won four consecutive state titles from 2010 to 2013.
Still unbeaten, the Cobras had back-to-back games last week, culminating Wednesday night with a visit from Skaneateles that, unlike its two previous outings, featured a slow start and a real battle right to the end before the Cobras prevailed 49-36 over the Lakers.
No doubt, Skaneateles had seen what had happened the night before at Phoenix, a 77-38 Grimes victory where, in the first eight minutes, the Cobras did whatever it wanted, from Jordan Vaught pouring in 16 points to Azariah Wade getting 11 points.
Others would score, too, and by the time the rampage was done, Grimes had a 39-10 lead. The inevitable letdown followed, but the Cobras recovered enough to outscore Phoenix 21-4 in the third quarter as Vaught moved her total to 21 points and Wade finished with 16 points.
Kyra Grimshaw stepped up with 12 points as Maria Gronau got eight points, Brianna Squier six points and all nine players that saw action had at least one field goal.
Seeing all that, Skaneateles made sure that it used most of the 30-second shot clock on a majority of its first-half possessions. This effective tactic, combined with some uninspired play from Grimes, kept it close throughout the half.
Early in the third period, Grimes only had a 21-18 lead, but then Wade took over. The freshman forward used a variety of post moves and a high-arcing jumper to score eight of her 15 points in that quarter, extending the Cobras’ margin to 33-23.
Gradually, the margin grew larger in the final minutes amid a blizzard of fouls. Vaught, despite her struggles, still had 11 points, while Molly McInerney contributed nine points. Skaneateles lost despite 15 points from 1,000-point scoring senior Elizabeth Lane and 13 points from Joanna Dobrovosky.
Grimes is off until next Thursday, when it meets Jordan-Elbridge as a warm-up for a big Jan. 31 visit from Westhill, who has improved a lot from the side the Cobras beat 45-34 early in December. Tip-off is at 2:30, with an Alumni Game to follow.
