Liverpool — Jenna Wike made sure that the special times for the Liverpool girls basketball time continue, this time with a big result on the court.
Wike’s big fourth-quarter performance helped the Warriors, once trailing by 10, defeat the Baldwinsville Bees 54-48 on Monday night and clinch a Section III Class AA playoff berth.
It culminated a memorable stretch for Liverpool that stretched back to December and its trip to Disney World in Florida. While the Warriors went 1-2 in the games that were played, the entire experience was special for players and coaches alike.
Then, back in Central New York, one of the largest crowds in program history gathered last Friday night for a game against West Genesee and to pay tribute to 2014 graduate Rachael Windhausen, an Oswego state sophomore who is battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Windhausen returned for the occasion, accompanied by the entire Oswego State women’s basketball team, and spoke to the crowd about her battle. Most in the crowd donned colors of violet and white, including players wearing warm-up T-shirts and coaches. Nearly $900 was raised for charity.
Once the game started, though, Liverpool lost, 48-41, to West Genesee, and coach Matt Brazill said the occasion may have overwhelmed his players. Either way, this added to the urgency of the next outing against Baldwinsville.
These teams first played on Dec. 1 at Baker High School, and the Bees won, 59-45, but that was before Wike, along with several other players (including Kyra Grimshaw, who saw her first game action against West Genesee) returned from injury to become one of the Warriors’ top threats.
The rematch started at a frantic tempo on both ends, and Liverpool grabbed an 11-5 lead before B’ville, led by forward Riley Carlucci (who had eight of her 14 points in the first quarter), turned it around.
continued — Even as the game slowed down, B’ville put together a 13-2 run that spanned the first two periods, only to see Wike, with her 10 first-half points, lead a rally that briefly put the Warriors in front.
B’ville, clinging to a 29-28 halftime lead, appeared to grab control, starting the third quarter with an 11-2 spurt. Again, though, it could not get away, Liverpool clamping down on defense to keep itself within range.
All of it led to Wike’s fourth-quarter heroics. It began with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws that tied the game, 45-45.
Following a Kaylee Lammers free throw, Wike returned to score again, giving Liverpool the lead for good, and then converted on a basket and free throw with 2:46 left to make it 50-46 in the Warriors’ favor.
Carlucci closed the gap to two 50-48, and it stayed that way until the final minute, when Trisha Lane made a big steal near her own basket and, on the other end, convered a lay-up with 35 seconds left, doubling the margin to four.
Wike sealed it with two more free throws, giving her 12 points for the fourth quarter and 24 points overall. Of her teammates, none had more than Kayleigh Young’s total of six points. For B’ville, Emily Pascale matched Carlucci’s total of 14 points.
In its first game of the new year on Jan. 5, the Warriors defeated Henninger 48-28 A tight, pressing Liverpool defense held Henninger to just three points in the second quarter. This allowed the Warriors to build a 29-10 cushion, one it maintained the rest of the way.
Wike, previewing her B’ville heroics, poured in 18 points, adding three assists and two steals, while Holly Sleeth had 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Lexi Emmi added seven rebounds and Drew Dufrane’s six points came from a pair of 3-pointers.
