The momentum Bishop Grimes picked up upending defending state Class B champion Susquehanna Valley on Dec. 27 at SRC Arena carried over into the resumption of OHSL Liberty division competition, too.
The Cobras beat Cazenovia 48-32 last Monday night, exploiting the fact that its opponent had not played in two weeks by holding the rusty Lakers to just two points in the first quarter. That created an early cushion that Grimes maintained through the game’s middle stages.
Then, getting away, the Cobras outscored Cazenovia 14-6 in the fourth quarter. It was a well-balanced, inside-outside attack, too, with Azariah Wade picking up 18 points, but Katy McInerney hitting three 3-pointers on her way to 14 points and Marissa Hartley connecting twice beyond the arc to finish with 12 points.
It appeared a more difficult assignment faced Grimes on Thursday night when it hosted Hannibal, a team good enough to knock off Class A state-ranked Whitesboro during the same Hoops for the Hospital Classic at OCC where the Cobras had beaten Susquehanna Valley.
Grimes was ready for it, though, and prevailed 59-40, though not without some stress. The Warriors shot well in the first quarter and seized a 16-15 lead, but when the Cobras’ defense tightened, Hannibal managed just 13 total points over the next two periods.
Meanwhile, Grimes continued its trend of steady production, and was quite balanced, too. Wade led with 13 points, but Molly McInerney hit four 3-pointers to account for all of her 12 points as Brianna Squier emerged again, earning 11 points. Hartley got seven points as Isabella Naylor and Abby Wilkinson contributed six points apiece. Hannibal lost despite 14 points from Sydney Alton and 11 points from Katie Pitcher.
Yet another tough non-league game awaited Grimes when it went to Rochester to face Bishop Kearney on Saturday afternoon. Looking to improve to 9-3, the Cobras could not quite pull it off, falling to the Kings 48-36.
All game long, Grimes’ problem was that it could not string a series of baskets together. Consequently, it fell behind 29-16 at halftime and could not make up that deficit, seeing Wade produce 12 points as Maria Naylor and Katy McInerney earned eight points apiece.
Across town, East Syracuse Minoa was still struggling for baskets, something that proved costly in last Tuesday night’s 37-33 defeat to Chittenango in its lone game of the first full week of 2016.
A low-scoring first half saw the Bears steadily inch out in front, building an 18-13 lead. Then Chittenango doubled that margin in the third quarter, getting a 29-19 edge and proceeding to hang on during the final minutes to withstand a Spartan comeback.
Athena Thomason, who earned half of her 10 points at the free-throw line, paced ESM. Loren Clifford, with nine points, and Brigid McGinley, with seven points, were close behind. Chittenango’s Morgan Shoemaker, with 12 points, led all individuals, Shoemaker converting on a pair of 3-pointers. Megan Pierce added nine points, and seven different Bears contributed a field goal as compared to ESM’s five.
