From the moment the Bishop Ludden girls basketball team left Westhill on Jan. 12 at the end of a 62-42 defeat, it turned its focus toward its trip to Utica for the annual Juggler Classic, held last weekend.
And the Gaelic Knights would claim the title, beating host Utica-Notre Dame 56-51 in the opening round on Jan. 16 and, a day later, prevailing in the title game. where sophomore Danielle Rauch put together another triple-double and the Gaelic Knights defeated Binghamton Seton Catholic in a 69-61 overtime battle.
It started against Utica-Notre Dame, who won the state Class B championship in 2014 led by senior Emily Durr, but had let go of its head coach, Mike Plonisch, just one year later and, entering this tournament, were 3-5 under first-year head coach Olivia Tooley.
Ludden held the Jugglers to six points in the first quarter, and despite its own struggles on the offensive end, led 22-17 at halftime. UND caught up and tied it again, 35-35, before the fourth quarter started, but in the homestretch the Gaelic Knights went back in front and stayed there.
Rauch scored 22 points, adding 11 rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Meg Sierotnik offered ample support with 12 points, six steals and five rebounds, while Ally Weigand and Laura Patulski, with six points apiece, combined for 15 boards as Sara Hayes contributed five rebounds, four assists and two steals. UND got a strong effort from Claire Sehring, who matched Rauch’s total of 22 points.
This led to the final against Seton Catholic, which would prove just as challenging. Here, the Gaelic Knights steadily built a 30-18 halftime lead, only to see the Saints fight back in the second half and, ultimately, forge a 56-56 tie that forced the game into OT.
During those last four minutes, Ludden climbed back in front, staying there because, among other things, Rauch kept adding to her totals on all fronts, not stopping until she had 28 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, six steals and four blocks on her ledger. In the OT, Rauch had seven of the Gaelic Knights’ 13 points.
But Seton Catholic couldn’t gang up on Rauch because Patulski earned her own double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Sierotnik put together nine points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Hayes finished with seven points and five rebounds, with Weigand contributing seven rebounds.
The win improved Ludden’s record to 11-2, something it would hope to improve upon – but could not do so, seeing a game with Marcellus snowed out and, on Friday, stumbling in 64-54 road loss to Oswego.
Coming from the Class A ranks, the Buccaneers did not get rattled when Ludden took an early 19-8 lead. Instead, Oswego closed most of the gap by halftime and then inched out in the front in the third quarter, proceeding to outscore the Gaelic Knights 20-11 in the final period.
Mostly, it was Clara Culeton, with 24 points, and Kelly Skinner, with 22 points, causing damage for the Bucs as its defense contained Rauch, holding her to 14 points. Patulski also had 14 points, while Sierotnik had 10 points. Weigand and Hayes got seven points apiece.
Back on Wednesday, Westhill, who had risen to no. 6 in those same state rankings, three spots ahead of Ludden, routing the combined ITC/Fowler squad 75-16 as it put on a 28-2 first-quarter blitz and cruised from there.
Delaney Martin, with 22 points, outscored ITC/Fowler by herself, adding seven rebounds and four steals. Everyone on the Westhill roster earned at least one field goal, with Katelyn Karleski getting 10 points, Shannon Bunce and Shannon Bunce nine points. Mackenzie Martin and Morgan Elmer had seven points apiece as Brigid Heinrich and Erica Gangemi each got six points in extended playing time. Mary Kate Washburn added nine rebounds and nine assists.
It figured to get tougher at Hannibal 24 hours later – and it was, but Westhill handled this too, prevailing in this Warrior clash by a 50-35 margin, though it required going all 32 minutes to feel comfortable about it.
Hannibal led, 15-14, through one period, but from there Westhill’s defense proved quite stingy, capped by limiting the hosts to four points in the fourth quarter when the game was still in doubt.
On the other end, Westhill had its share of struggles, but Delaney Martin still managed 15 points, with Karleski adding nine points. Washburn and Mackenzie Martin had eight points apiece as Bunce came off the bench to earn seven points. On Hannibal’s side, Katie Pitcher had 10 points and Sydney Alton earned nine points.
Marcellus, attempting a late-season push, would beat Solvay 57-37 on Thursday night, opening the game with an 18-3 sprint through the first quarter and controlling matters from there, even if the Bearcats played on fairly even terms the rest of the way.
Julia Piorkowski stepped up for the Mustangs, earning 14 points, six rebounds and five steals. Eve Hughes mixed in 12 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals, while Shannon White chimed in with 11 points. Sydney Lewis got nine points and four steals as Solvay saw Elle Hodge (16 points) and Johnae Crenshaw (11 points) account for much of the offense.
Solvay also lost, 43-25, to Altmar-Parish-Williamstown on Saturday, unable to recover from a first quarter where it managed just a single point. Hodge did get 11 points by game’s end, with Crenshaw adding six points and Taylor Marcott picking up six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Jordan-Elbridge went on the road, to Buckley Gym, and lost, 52-32, to Cazenovia, a game that was tight in a low-scoring first half before the Eagles, trailing 19-16, saw the Lakers break out in the third quarter during a decisive 21-12 push.
On its side, J-E had no one reach double figures, though Alexis Braun (eight points) and Bailey Van Gorden (seven points) came close as Allison Jennings and Emily Somes earned six points apiece. Cazenovia got 17 points from Danielle Tedesco and 11 points from Lucy Connor.