Skaneateles — A new year also meant a welcome return to full strength for the Skaneateles girls basketball team, and that meant winning again.
Bailey Herr’s presence in the lineup helped produce a pair of home victories, including one Thursday against neighbor and rival Marcellus, whom Skaneateles tamed for the second time this winter in a 62-43 decision.
They had first met Dec. 8, at Marcellus, a game Skaneateles pulled out 50-43 in large part because the Mustangs lost one of its top players, Liz White, to a broken hand that would sideline her for nearly a month.
Fittingly, White had returned the game before the Mustangs’ rematch with the Lakers, but neither she, nor any other Mustangs defender, could contain a red-hot Skaneateles offense that did what it wanted during the first half, eventually building a 41-25 lead.
This allowed the Lakers a cushion as it slumped in the third quarter, Marcellus pulling within single digits, 48-39, before Skaneateles took over again on both sides down the stretch, led by Olivia Dobrovosky, who had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Shannon Foehl poured in 18 points, most of it from four 3-pointers, while Maddy Pinckney connected twice beyond the arc on her way to 14 points. Herr contributed six points and Chloe Metz five points as White, with 12 points, was the lone Marcellus player to score in double figures.
Two nights earlier, Skaneateles hosted hosted the combined Institute of Technology Central/Fowler side last Tuesday night, and controlled the contest all the way through on the way to a 60-26 victory.
Skaneateles did not have Herr on hand during the Dec. 26-27 Hoops for the Hospital Tournament at SRC Arena, where it went 1-1 and finished second in its pool to state Class B no. 3-ranked South Jefferson.
Fittingly, Herr notched a team-best 11 points in her return to the lineup, leading a well-balanced attack as Sknaeateles outscoring ITC/Fowler in every quarter as it led, 34-15, at halftime and continued to pull further away.
Metz, scoring 10 points, also reached double figures. Pinckney’s nine points included a pair of 3-pointers as Foehl and Dobrovosky notched seven points apiece and Racheal Smith finshed with six points.
The two wins pushed Skaneateles’ overall record to 8-4 and clinched a Section III Class B playoff berth. The homestand continues Tuesday against Solvay before a key game next Thursday night against visiting Bishop Grimes.
