How the Baldwinsville girls basketball team reacted to its first true crisis of the season would go a long way toward determining its mindset heading into the Section III Class AA playoffs.
The Bees entered this last week of the regular campaign at 14-3, but reeling from back-to-back defeats to West Genesee and Cicero-North Syracuse, all of it triggered by an ankle injury to standout center Rachael Miller early in the loss to the Wildcats.
Even with Miller, defeating the six-time defending sectional champion Northstars on Feb. 6 was a tall task, but without her, C-NS used a 27-7 third-quarter run to get away and hand B’ville a 71-48 loss.
As Miller recuperated, the Bees would pay a visit to struggling Fayetteville-Manlius last Tuesday night, and would see several different players, especially Riley Carlucci, take on larger roles during a 53-39 victory over the Hornets.
Defensive pressure helped B’ville hold F-M to five points in the first quarter. Gradually, the margin grew, to 27-15 by halftime, and the Bees used a diverse attack to make sure the Hornets didn’t get nay closer.
Carlucci, anchoring the front court, had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and F-M couldn’t collapse on her because Emily Pascale was putting up 17 points, eight assists and four steals. Hope DeFazio finished with 11 points, with Katie Walsh getting six points and five rebounds. For the Hornets, only D’Jhai Patterson-Ricks, with 15 points, scored in double figures.
Two nights later, B’ville hosted Corcoran, who had just seen its head coach, Jim Marsh, pass Nottingham great Willetta Spease as the all-time leader in career coaching wins with 493 during the Cougars’ 41-38 win over Liverpool on Tuesday.
The Bees made sure Marsh stayed at that win total, at least for now, by outscoring the Cougars in each of the first three periods and prevailing over Corcoran 55-48.
While not getting any big run, B’ville was steady and productive, working toward a 25-19 halftime lead, and then stretching out the margin to double digits, 40-29, before the Cougars made a late-game push.
DeFazio was strong again, earning 19 points and four rebounds. Pascale and Lammers each had 12 points, with Pascale adding six assists. Carlucci grabbed 13 rebounds to go with her six points as Walsh added eight rebounds and four blocks. Corcoran got 14 points from Brandi Fowler and 11 points from Nazjaha Thompson.
This put the Bees at 16-3, and on Sunday the sectional Class AA bracket came out. B’ville had the no. 3 seed in a 10-team bracket and, on Friday night at 5 p.m., will host no. 6 seed Central Square, a team it beat twice this season, in the AA quarterfinals, the first part of a girls-boys doubleheader that includes the boys first-round game against Liverpool.
