More than a week after its tough Jan. 13 win over Skaneateles, the Cazenovia girls basketball team had another chance to earn a signature victory – and got it.
It came Friday night, when the Lakers went on the road to face a red-hot Westhill team that had won nine straight games, and for three periods it looked like that string would reach 10 in a row as Cazenovia struggled to get anything going.
During that fourth quarter, though, everything change, and with it the Lakers’ fortunes as it came back, caught up and ultimately beat the Warriors 40-39.
Throughout the first half, and deep into the second, Westhill’s defensive attention given to Maggie Johnson, who finished with just six points, was something Cazenovia could not overcome. And it bottomed out during a third quarter where the Lakers, already trailing 26-15, managed just four points.
At the same time, though, Cazenovia held Westhill to five points in that third period, and would continue to clamp down even as, on the offensive side, Danielle Tedesco and Kelsi Fredericks would make the Warriors pay for its lavish attention on Johnson.
Tedesco, with open looks, earned most of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, and Fredericks hit a trio of 3-pointers to account for all of her nine points. Together, they helped the Lakers outscore Westhill 21-8 in those last eight minutes to pull off its biggest win of the season so far.
Prior to all that, the Lakers hosted Jordan-Elbridge last Tuesday night at Buckley Gym, and it was a rout from start to finish, not letting up until Cazenovia had posted a 65-17 victory and moved within one win of clinching a playoff berth.
It was 32-8 by halftime, and the Lakers got everyone in the lineup involved, producing plenty of baskets, starting with Johnson, who reached double figures with 13 points.
Tedesco and Leah Enders finished with eight points apiece, while Kate Sullivan had seven points. Three others – Audrey Burbidge, Lizzy Bigsby and Lucy Connor – had six points apiece, while Jenna Britton finished with five points.
The Westhill win propelled the Lakers’ record to 8-4 and clinched a Section III Class B playoff berth. On Tuesday night, Cazenovia would visit Cortland before returning home two nights later to face Hannibal.
