Clearly, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team arrived to the last week of the regular season in a bad mood, and all subsequent opponents would pay for it.
On Feb. 7, the Red Rams lost at home to Catholic Central (Section II) 45-36, a game where it played brilliant defense in the first half and led, 19-10, only to see the Crusaders dominate the last two periods and lead by the fourth quarter.
Maddy Frank had 11 points, with Meg Hair adding nine points and Kasey Vaughan getting seven points, but Carly O’Hern, who had 21 second-quarter points (including six 3-pointers) in a win over CBA on Feb. 3, managed just four points in this game.
Fowler happened to be J-D’s next opponent last Tuesday night, and the Rams blasted the Falcons by an 82-10 margin, which included a 24-0 blitz through the first quarter and a 29-0 run through the entire third quarter.
All 12 Rams players that saw action got at least one field goal, with O’Hern rebounding to score 13 points. Frank, Alyssa Robens and Julia Fairbanks each had 10 points, while Julia Kelner had seven points. Hair, Vaughan and MaryKate Scheftic got six points apiece.
Even though it looked like J-D would have a much tougher challenge Friday at Cortland, it didn’t turn out that way as the Rams pummeled the Purple Tigers 62-37.
A 23-point first quarter set the tone, and J-D’s defense made sure Cortland never got on track, holding them to just eight points in each of the last two periods. Meg Hair led with 14 points, but Frank (13 points) and Robens (11 points) were close behind, O’Hern adding nine points as Angela Bussone and Julia Kelner had six points apiece.
As this went on, CBA visited Homer, and while the margin was not nearly as lopsided, the Brothers had little trouble beating the Trojans 48-25, never allowing more than eight points in any single quarter as it steadily pulled away.
Julie Cuomo, with 14 points, set the pace, with Nafysa Williams not far behind as she earned 10 points. Natalie Nardella had seven points, with Paige Nicholson contributing six points. For Homer, only Caley Cornwell, with 11 points, reached double figures.
Two nights later, at Auburn, the Brothers cooled off, falling 52-33 in a game where the Maroons established most of its margin by outscoring CBA 16-5 in the first quarter.
No one reached double figures, though Cuomo (nine points), Williams (eight points), Nardella and Rosalee Winderl (six points each) had nice balance. Auburn guard Anna Giannone, in her last regular-season home game, dominated, earning 25 points, five assists and five steals.
East Syracuse Minoa, on the other hand, got blitzed in a 60-22 defeat to Oswego, a surprise given that the Spartans went into the game with a 12-5 record and the Buccaneers were 11-5.
The low point for ESM came when Oswego outscored them 16-0 in the second quarter. Danielle Yates and Brigid McGinley led the Spartans with just six points apiece, while standouts Sydni Eure and Ashley Scalzo got held to one field goal apiece. Marguerite Dillon (18 points, four rebounds) and Clara Culeton (11 points) led the way for the Bucs.
Two nights later, the Spartans recovered to beat Chittneango 38-21, eliminating the Bears from post-season consideration with a stingy defense that never allowed more than seven points in any single quarter. Scalzo led the modest attack with 11 points, while Eure had nine points and Yates finished with six points.
ESM, as the no. 7 seed in the Section III Class A playoffs, hosted no. 10 seed Utica-Notre Dame in Tuesday night’s opening round, while CBA, the no. 9 seed, visited no. 8 seed Marcellus. J-D drew the no. 4 seed and was at home to face no. 13 seed Oneida.
Fayetteville-Manlius, with its season nearing its end, lost, 53-35, to Baldwinsville last Tuesday, unable to take advantage of the 14-3 Bees not having star center Rachael Miller in the lineup due to an ankle injury.
The Hornets trailed 27-15 by halftime, and were unable to gain much traction, despite 15 points from D’Jhai Patterson-Ricks. B’ville still had Emily Pascale deliver 17 points and eight assists, with Riley Carlucci managing 15 points and 12 rebounds and Hope DeFazio adding 11 points.
It was closer Friday night, but F-M lost, 31-25, to Nottingham, held to two points in the third quarter as it could not take advantage of the Bulldogs’ own offensive struggles. Patterson-Ricks had 10 points and Elizabeth Hall added six points.
