Skaneateles — Tested so many times through the first half of the regular season, the Skaneateles girls basketball team was glad to find a respite here and there while also building up its win total after securing a Section III Class B playoff berth.
The Lakers hosted Solvay last Tuesday night, and while the Bearcats were a tougher team a few years back, that certainly wasn’t the case here as Skaneateles controlled the entire game and won by a 56-15 margin.
All that Solvay could manage in the first quarter was a single free throw. And it didn’t get much better from there, either, Skaneateles gaining a 26-3 edge by halftime and continuing to shut down the Bearcats for long stretches, even with the game well in hand.
Each of the nine Lakers players that saw action earned at least one field goal. Bailey Herr led with 15 points, matching the entire Solvay output, while Shannon Foehl and Riley Pascal earned eight points apiece. Hannah Atkinson had seven points and Chloe Metz gained six points.
Everything got tougher on Thursday night, with Skaneateles hosting Bishop Grimes, whom it lost to, 49-38, in the Nov. 24 season opener. With a chance at getting even, the Lakers nearly did so, but were thwarted at the wire in a 45-41 defeat to the Cobras.
One big difference from that first encounter was that Grimes didn’t have its top player, Azariah Wade, at 100 percent, with Wade battling an ankle injury.
Taking full advantage, the Skaneateles defense did a terrific job in the first half, containing Grimes in every manner while it leaned on Foehl and Herr to make baskets on the other end. The result was a 28-17 margin the Lakers took to halftime.
Yet when the third quarter started, it was Skaneateles who slumped, held to just three points in those eight minutes by the Cobras’ pressure. Given new life, Grimes made up most of the margin and only trailed by one, 31-30, going to the fourth quarter, where it claimed the lead and held on.
Foehl, helped by three 3-pointers, earned 16 points overall, while Herr got 10 points and Olivia Dobrovosky earned eight points. Wade still had eight points in her limited capacity, but her teammates helped out, led by fellow sophomore Brianna Squier, who got 12 points as Abby Wilkinson added eight points and Katy McInerney seven points.
Back on the road next Tuesday night, Skaneateles takes a 9-5 record to Hannibal before returning home to face Altmar-Parish-Williamstown two nights later.