Nearly 10 months since their paths crossed in a pulsating Section III Class B semifinal, the Bishop Ludden and Westhill girls basketball teams were together again, but the result proved different.

Led by the duo of Danielle Rauch and Aurora Deshaies, the Gaelic Knights pushed out in front in the third quarter, and then the defense took over to help clinch a 55-41 victory over the Warriors.

Routs in each of first four games had pushed Ludden to no. 3 in the first state Class B rankings of the season, while Westhill, at 5-1, had the no. 21 state ranking.

At the very least, the Warriors expected to give the Gaelic Knights its first serious challenge, and the opening minutes bore this out, Westhill claiming a 12-0 lead before Ludden scored the last eight points of the period, capped by Ally Weigand’s jumper just before the horn.

Midway through the second quarter, both sides went into a prolonged drought. That coincided with Rauch going to the bench with two fouls, which gave the Warriors a prime chance to get out in front.

Instead, Westhill went the last 3:39 of the half without a basket, when any field goal would have put them in front. Thus, Ludden felt quite happy going to the break nursing a 23-22 lead, knowing Rauch would return for the third quarter.

Once back on the court, Rauch sparked a 14-2 third-quarter run. Here, the Gaelic Knights’ inside-outside strategy of having Deshaies in the middle to grab rebounds and convert baskets, drawing double and triple teams away from Rauch, was in full bloom.

More important, though, was that Ludden didn’t panic when Westhill whittled its deficit down to five, 41-36, early in the fourth quarter. As a whole, the Gaelic Knights’ defense shut down the Warriors, holding them without a field goal for more than five minutes, more than enough time for Ludden to pull away.

Of Rauch’s 20 points, 14 of them came in the second half as she also earned six assists, five rebounds, three steals and three blocks,  Not to be outdone, Deshaies finished with 14 points to go with her 17 rebounds. Ally Weigand had six points and six rebounds as Taj Huddleston contributed six rebounds and five points off the bench.

Deshaies held her own against Westhill’s star forward, Mackenzie Martin, who had to work hard for her 12 points. Morgan Elmer had 11 points, with Katelyn Karleski adding nine points. The Warriors will get a second shot at Ludden Jan. 14 as part of the Pathfinder Classic at Le Moyne College.

While the battle between Ludden and Westhill drew the most attention, Marcellus and West Genesee also made statements with victories early in the week before the holiday break.

Marcellus, routed Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 71-38 last Monday night, and it proved a showcase for Liz White, who nearly matched the Rebels all by herself by scoring a career-best 30 points and did not stop there, adding seven assists and six steals.

The Mustangs steadily built a 35-23 halftime lead and setting a fast pace the Rebels couldn’t keep up with, eventually closing with a 20-5 fourth-quarter blitz. Helping out White, Sydney Lewis had 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Grace Hoey got 12 points and Hannah Durand picked up nine points.

As for West Genesee, its big win came at Fayetteville-Manlius, where quick and productive starts to each half made the difference in a 61-48 victory over the Hornets.

No matter what F-M tried on the defensive side, it didn’t work in the first quarter because the Wildcats built a 22-14 lead. That margin held up until the third quarter, when WG extended it by scoring 19 points in that frame and made it 49-36, too much for the Hornets to overcome.

Other than Mackenzie Smith, who led with 17 points, the Wildcats had a well-balanced attack. Madison Smith and Kaitlyn Walker had 10 points apiece, while Haley Collins grabbed nine points. Camryn Chawgo got seven points and Aleysha Castanon had six points. For F-M, Alexis Gray had 16 points and Abbey Harris earned most of her 14 points through four successful 3-pointers.

Solvay was glad just to get into the win column, doing so last Tuesday to break a season-opening three-game skid as it beat the combined ITC/Fowler squad 43-24.  The Bearcats surrendered just 10 first-half points, and then used an 18-5 push through the third quarter to pull away.

Nadea Davis led Solvay with 13 points, four steals, four assists and three rebounds. Sam Farruggio earned six points from a pair of successful 3-pointers, while Elle Hodge had eight rebounds to go with her five points.

Marissa Grammatico contributed six rebounds. Camille Devereaux and Brielle Bagozzi had five rebounds apiece as Johnae Crenshaw got three steals, two blocks and two rebounds to complement her five-point effort.