Back from its Southern Tier sweep over Vestal and Union-Endicott on Dec. 28-29, the Westhill girls basketball team handled all of the preliminaries leading up to Tuesday night’s attempt at avenging its lone regular-season defeat to Bishop Ludden.
That included a visit to Jordan-Elbridge last Tuesday night where the Warriors, controlling matters from start to finish, put five players in double figures and handled the Eagles in a 78-37 decision.
Gaining a 38-12 edge by halftime, the Warriors were again led by Delaney Martin, who had 21 points. Morgan Elmer and Mackenzie Martin landed 12 points apiece, while Brigid Heinrich came off the bench and joined Katelyn Karleski in earning 10 points. Mary Kate Washburn had seven points as, for J-E, no one hit double figures, though Annie Altwarg (eight points), Emily Somes (seven points) and Bailey Van Gorden (six points) got close.
Now the Warriors hosted Altmar-Parish-Williamstown on Thursday night, their first encounter since last winter’s Section III Class B semifinal, but this one was far more lopsided as Westhill bashed the Rebels 69-25. Nearly getting a first-quarter shutout, Westhill led APW 25-2 at the end of that frame and cruised from there, capping it off with a 21-0 fourth-quarter shutout.
Delaney Martin matched the Rebels by herself with 25 points, adding nine rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Elmer had 11 points, four assists and four steals. Washburn put together nine points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Mackenzie Martin had 11 rebounds and five blocks to go with her seven points.
Unlike their rivals and fellow league title contenders, Bishop Ludden did not play during the holiday break. So when it returned to the court at APW last Monday night, it was coming off a 14-day layoff.
But the long rest did little to hurt the state Class B no. 7-ranked Gaelic Knights, who doubled up the Rebels 54-27. True, it took a full quarter for the rhythm to return, but Ludden’s defense pressured APW into all kinds of turnovers and, in the second period, went on a decisive 20-8 spurt to take the lead for good.
Threatening a quadruple-double, Danielle Rauch finished with 20 points, nine steals, eight rebounds and seven assists. Ally Weigand had a strong showing, too, with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Laura Patulski stepped up with 10 points and eight rebounds. Karleigh Leo added six points and Katie Costello contributed six points.
One more league game, at Cazenovia on Wednesday, awaited the Gaelic Knights before the rematch with Westhill, and it took charge in the second quarter of a 60-30 victory, outscoring the Lakers 17-5 in that frame and continuing to add to its 29-12 halftime lead from there.
Rauch got close to her APW numbers, this time getting 18 points, but upping her rebound total to 13 while also recording eight assists and eight steals. Not to be forgotten, Patulski had 10 points and four rebounds, while Sara Hayes gathered up nine points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists. Weigand contributed nine rebounds.
Ludden improved to 8-1 on Saturday, beating Academy of the Holy Cross 53-43 in large part because it finished well, outscoring Holy Cross 15-8 in the fourth quarter to break a tight game open. Meg Sierotnik stepped up, pouring in 15 points to help Rauch (16 points) as Hayes added nine points and Weigand got eight points.
The struggles of Marcellus continued at home last Tuesday night, when the Mustangs welcomed back Shannon White to the lineup – but also proved quite generous on the defensive side during a 90-59 loss to Central Square.
Liz White had missed nearly a month due to a broken hand. In her return, she saw limited minutes, while Julia Piorkowski stepped up with a career-best 18 points and five rebounds. Eve Hughes added 10 points and four rebounds as Shannon White got eight points, Grace Hoey six points and Sydney Lewis six assists and three rebounds.
None of them could stop a Redhawks attack that roared out to a 53-29 halftime lead and saw six players score in double figures. Lizzy Straub, with 18 points, led that charge, followed by Breanna Ransom (14 points), Kalie Schumaker (12 points), Maddy Besaw, Caitlin Bezner (11 points each) and Lauren Bell (10 points).
Two nights later, the Mustangs went to Skaneateles, whom it scared on Dec. 8 in the 50-43 defeat where Liz White got hurt. The rematch saw Marcellus struggle early and make a second-half push before falling to the Lakers 62-43.
All through the first two periods, Marcellus saw its defense struggle to contain Skaneateles, who built up a 41-25 margin. Then that defense turned around, limiting the Lakers to seven points in the third period and closing the gap to single digits, 48-39, only to go cold down the stretch just when it needed one more run to make it more interesting.
Liz White led the way, with 12 points, while Julia Piorkowski got seven points. Hoey and Lauren Young had five points apiece. For Skaneateles, Shannon Foehl led with 18 points, helped by Olivia Dobrovosky, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Maddy Pinckney, who poured in 14 points.
J-E was back in action Friday, against the combined ITC/Fowler squad, and won 51-33, steadily earning a 26-18 advantage by halftime, but not pulling away until it had outscored the hosts 16-8 in the fourth quarter. Four Eagles scored in double figures, led by Alexis Braun, who poured in 14 points. Van Gorden and Somes each had 12 points, with Emily Klock contributing 10 points.