All of the elements were falling into place for the Baldwinsville girls basketball team’s most important game in years.
With a 14-1 record and a seven-game win streak, the Bees were all set to welcome Cicero-North Syracuse to the Baker High School gym on Friday night and see if it could measure up against the six-time defending Section III Class AA champions.
But in the course of getting ready for C-NS, B’ville forgot about the more immediate task – and paid for it.
West Genesee, armed with just a 6-9 record, stunned the Bees 52-42 last Wednesday night in Camillus, playing with an urgency and passion that B’ville could not match.
Right from the start, the signs were troubling. The Bees, normally a high-scoring team, had just five points in the first quarter, unable to take advantage of the Wildcats’ early struggles, and worse yet, lost its star forward, Rachael Miller, to an injury.
Thus, when WG got going in the second quarter and grabbed a 21-17 halftime lead, the Bees were knocked back, and no matter what it tried, it could not get back even, still trailing by four, 33-29, going to the final period.
Putting it away, the Wildcats led by as much as 11 in that final frame, seeing Grace Osterdale pick up 15 points and 10 rebounds, plus five blocks, with four others scoring five or more points.
Though the Bees’ Emily Pascale led both sides with 23 points, adding four rebounds, four steals and three assists, the rest of the team struggled in Miller’s absence, Hope DeFazio only earning five points. Riley Carlucci, with 13 rebounds and seven points, offered the most support.
And this led to the showdown with C-NS, with a large crowd on hand and a “Pink Out” for breast cancer awareness that featured both teams donning pink-themed jerseys.
For a half, the Bees, still without Miller in the lineup, stayed right with the Northstars, and it did so in the fourth quarter, too. In between, though, came a third period that cost B’ville any chance in a 71-48 defeat.
When C-NS claimed a 14-8 first-quarter lead, some feared that it was already getting away, but the Bees did a terrific job the rest of the half solving C-NS’s defensive riddles, seeing Pascale, DeFazio and Kaylee Lammers sink baskets, and at the break the deficit was just five points, 30-25.
As so many great teams do, though, the Northstars made proper adjustments and took off once the third quarter got underway, C-NS putting together a decisive 27-7 burst.
Inside, Amani Free, without having to worry about Miller’s shot-blocking presence, kept making strong moves to the goal, eventually producing 23 points. When B’ville surrounded free, C-NS guards Beth Bonin and McKayla Roberts got open looks, and made six 3-pointers between them for the night, Bonin earning 18 points and Roberts 12 points.
To its credit, B’ville would play a strong fourth quarter. DeFazio finished with 16 points, while Pascale (11 points) and Lammers (10 points) also reached double figures, Pascale adding four rebounds and Lammers five assists.
Having fallen to 14-3, the Bees look to get back into winning form Tuesday, at Fayetteville-Manlius, before closing the regular season next Thursday against Corcoran – whose coach, Jim Marsh, could pass Nottingham’s Willetta Spease as Section III’s leader in coaching victories (492) if the Cougars beat Liverpool on Tuesday.
