For once, the Liverpool girls basketball team found a way to upstage its neighbors from Cicero-North Syracuse.
True, it didn’t come from a direct head-to-head win, but the Warriors earned its most impressive victories in years Tuesday night when it took down undefeated, state Class AA no. 13-ranked Fayetteville-Manlius in a 50-39 decision.
Even though F-M had started 6-0, there were times where its offense relied too much on the exploits of guard D’Jhai Patterson-Ricks. By contrast, Liverpool had proven that several different players could contribute, depending on the night and situation.
Through an evenly played first half, the Warriors showed that it belonged with the Hornets, inching out in front, 24-21. Every time F-M tried to get even, Liverpool had an answer, and it got away in the fourth quarter, utilizing its depth and athleticism to wear the visitors down and outscore them 16-9.
Jenna Wike, with 13 points and four rebounds, and Drew Dufrane, with 11 points and six rebounds, set the pace, but they got help from Trisha Lane and Holy Sleeth, who each had eight points as Lane contributed five rebounds. Taylor Van Camp had six points and two steals.
On F-M’s side, Patterson-Ricks, with 14 points, was the only player to get to double figures, though Elizabeth Hall, with nine points, and Alexis Gray, with seven points and nine rebounds, offered some support.
Back on Friday, Liverpool climbed to the .500 mark in an impressive manner, going to Corcoran’s Jim Marsh Court and, led by a career-best shooting effort from Dufrane, handling the Cougars by a score of 69-42.
In a season where Corcoran has faced difficulty adjusting to life without Marsh, the all-time Section III leader in coaching wins who is battling liver cancer, Liverpool unleashed its offense during a first half where it steadily built a 39-23 lead.
Dufrane made sure the Warriors didn’t let up, continually hurting Corcoran on all front as she piled up 30 points, most of it from seven 3-pointers, which tied the team record for 3-pointers in a single game.
But Durfrane also got six steals, five rebounds and four assists, helping her teammates, including Brianna Socker, who earned 11 points, and Lexi Emmi, who had seven points, five steals and four rebounds. Nine different players had at least one field goal by game’s end.
The big win over F-M followed – and so did a non-league game at Marcellus 24 hours later, where Liverpool avoided a letdown by defeating the Mustangs 58-37.
Marcellus was short-handed without one of its top players, forward Liz White, who broke her hand earlier in the month. Taking full advantage, the Warriors worked its way to a 39-21 halftime lead, overcoming 12 points and seven rebounds from the Mustangs’ Grace Hoey and 10 points from Shannon White.
Eleven different Liverpool players got on the scoreboard, led by Dufrane, who had 12 points. Sleeth and Lane each added seven points, with Van Camp, Emmi and Bri Socker earning five points apiece.
Meanwhile, C-NS, who had the no. 5 spot in the first state AA rankings of the season, left just after Christmas for its trip to San Francisco, which includes a tournament that got underway on Sunday against a local school, Arroyo Grande.
Head coach Eric Smith said that the trip was a reward especially designed for his large senior class, given all the work they had done to maintain the Northstars’ place atop the Section III Class AA and CNY Counties League ranks.
Before heading to the Bay Area, though, C-NS had one more assignment, hosting Nottingham Tuesday night with the Bulldogs fresh off its own big overtime win over Baldwinsville on Dec. 18.
Award of what the Bulldogs could do, the Northstars ripped past them 66-29, again playing superb defense from start to finish and depending mostly on a trio of stars to produce on the offensive end.
Beth Bonin, in particular, broke out, earning a season-best 22 points that included a pair of 3-pointers and eight successful free throws. McKayla Roberts connected three times beyond the arc on her way to 15 points, while Amani Free earned 13 points. In all, 10 different C-NS players earned at least two points.
Both local sides were heading to warmer venues during the holiday break. While C-NS decamped in San Francisco, Liverpool made the trip to Florida to participate in a tournament at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex.
