DeWitt — Much of Friday night’s girls basketball game between Jamesville-DeWitt and Christian Brothers Academy at John Lynch Gym was closely fought, with a scoring run from one side answered by one from the other side.
But it followed an opening sequence where the Red Rams seized total control, something that persisted the rest of the night as it beat the Brothers by a 66-46 margin.
Just like everyone else in the Section III Class A and OHSL Freedom division ranks, CBA was finding itself chasing J-D at the top. With a four-game win streak, the Brothers were showing good form, but a much higher form was needed against the Rams.
CBA’s best chance, as it turned out, was gone before the game was five minutes old.
Other than a Kate LaCasse jumper, the Brothers were shut out in that initial stretch, J-D applying tough man-to-man pressure, forcing turnovers and patiently working the ball around when it had possession.
Meg Hair provided the offensive spark, getting seven points, including a pair of 3-pointers. And by the time Hair went to the bench with two fouls, the Rams had a 15-2 lead.
From there, the Brothers’ chase got underway. Rosalee Winderl led it, scoring 12 first-half points, and CBA did pull within single digits, 26-18, before Hair and Angela Bussone hit back-to-back 3-pointers, stretching out the margin that was 36-23 going into the break.
To make sure CBA didn’t catch up, the Rams began the third quarter on a 10-3 run, with five of the points from Hair, who led her side with 17 points overall.
And when the Brothers used a 7-0 run to make it 50-37 early in the final period, Jamie Boeheim came off the bench and caught fire, hitting three consecutive baskets as part of a career-best 13-point effort.
continued — Steady in the paint, forward Julia Kelner gained 11 points, while Bussone and Kasey Vaughan had six points apiece, all from four 3-pointers.
Winderl finished with 19 points to pace CBA, with Natalie Nardella adding 11 points. CBA will get another shot at J-D three weeks from now, on Jan. 9, but on the Rams’ home floor.
J-D would face Central Square last Wednesday night before taking off for its holiday-week appearance in the Diamond State Classic in Delaware.
A night earlier, CBA faced hot-starting Homer, and put together its best all-around performance of the season, dominating in every phase of the game and trouncing the Trojans by a score of 67-32.
During a pivotal first quarter, CBA asserted control, grabbing a 19-8 lead, and kept pulling further away, especially in the second half, where Nardella continued to fill up the stat sheet with her 19 points, five assists, four rebounds, two steals and one block.
Paige Nicholson caught fire, too, hitting five 3-pointers to account for most of her 17 points, while Brooke Jarvis had nine points. Winderl, held to four points, still managed seven rebounds as Olivia Carni gained six points.
CBA is competing in the Camden Tournament, starting next Monday when it meets the host Blue Devils, with the winner to get Central Square or undefeated Pulaski in Tuesday’s final round.
Bishop Grimes would take on Marcellus last Monday, with the Mustangs short-handed after one of its top players, Liz White, broke her hand during a game against Skaneateles two weeks earlier.
The Cobras handled the Mustangs 70-44 to improve to 4-3 on the season, getting 28 points from Azariah Wade as it steadily built a 57-27 lead through three periods. Katy McInerney had nine points, while Marissa Hartley and Mary Castricone delivered six points apiece.
Now Grimes headed to SRC Arena for last weekend’s More Than A Game Tournament, kicking off a four-day festival of boys and girls games that will benefit Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. The Cobras, in Pool Three, faces Oswego Saturday before taking on Susquehanna Valley (a state Class B final four team last winter) or Rochester Mercy on Sunday night.
continued — East Syracuse Minoa is also in this tournament, where it meets state Class B no. 6-ranked South Jefferson, followed by Sunday’s game against Skaneateles or Oneida.
The Spartans are coming off a 55-47 defeat to Cortland on Dec. 18, where it could not recover from falling behind 22-11 in the first quarter, despite outscoring the Purple Tigers the rest of the way.
Taylor Cassella had 11 points, with Loren Clifford and Brigid McGinley adding 10 points apiece and Alexis Filmer earning seven points. Shea Swartout led Cortland with 21 points, five steals and three rebounds, while her teammate, Jackie Phillips, had 12 points and 10 rebounds.