When the Cicero-North Syracuse girls basketball team returned to New York City for a weekend appearance in the Mecca Tournament, it left behind a Section III Class AA field that, including Liverpool, seemed as far away as ever, especially with the Northstars rising all the way up to no. 10 in the latest USA Today Super 25 rankings of the best teams in the nation.

C-NS faced Mary Louis Academy, from Queens. It stayed close most of the way, but again, when put to the test, C-NS passed it, prevailing 55-46 over the Crusaders.

Defense ruled in the first half, on both sides. Baskets were rare to find as Mary Louis proved just as stingy, inching into a 19-18 lead at the break. But once the tempo increased, C-NS got more comfortable, doubling its total in the third quarter to go in front, 36-32, and then hitting all the shots down the stretch, too.

Amani Free again stood out, the sophomore pouring in 20 points, and when the Crusaders tried to stop her, McKayla Roberts got open for four 3-pointers that accounted for most of her 16 points. Mary Kate Bonnani (10 points) and Beth Bonin (nine points) each connected twice beyond the arc.

One of those long-time chasers, Baldwinsville, made a trip to C-NS last Monday night, and with relentless efficiency and depth, the Northstars put the Bees away, prevailing by a 76-37 margin.

It was more lopsided than it was back on Dec. 8, when C-NS prevailed 69-35 at the Baker High School Gym. During the rematch, B’ville (10-6) ran into heavy defensive pressure that the Northstars maintained throughout the first half. As a result, the Bees trailed, 36-13, at intermission and watched as C-NS used a 20-6 sprint through the third quarter to pull further away.

Roberts led with 17 points, one of four Northstars to reach double figures. Bonin finished with 12 points as Jordyn Francati, in her best performance so far, added 11 points, matching Free’s total and joining Roberts in hitting three 3-pointers apiece. What’s more, Julianna Vassallo produced eight points, Samantha Tortora got seven points and Mackenzie O’Hara gained six points.

No one on B’ville’s side scored in double figures, though Emily Pascale still had nine points, four assists and three rebounds, while Riley Carlucci amassed 10 rebounds to go with her eight points. Kaylee Lammers had eight points and Mackenzie Hanna six points.

Two nights later, C-NS ripped Henninger 84-20, a game that was 35-2 at the end of the first quarter and saw hot shooting from Roberts and Bonin, who combined for seven 3-pointers as Roberts, with 20 points, matched the Black Knights’ entire output and Bonin added 17 points.

Everyone on the roster got at least one point, though, with production spread around. Free had 11 points, with Tortora getting nine points and O’Hara adding eight points. Vassallo and Ashley Jimenez had six points apiece.

Then C-NS played again on Thursday and beat West Genesee 66-34, a result similar to its 66-39 win at Camillus on Dec. 17, at least in terms of the final score, even if the paths were different.

WG actually scored 12 points in the first quarter in the face of C-NS’s well-regarded defense, but in the second quarter, it managed just four points when any sort of run might have kept it close.

Then the Northstars got away, led by Bonin (17 points) and Roberts (15 points), who each made three 3-pointers. Tortora and Vassallo each had nine points, while Free finished with seven points. On the Wildcats’ side, no one reached double figures, but Madison Smith earned nine points, while Mya Case had seven points.

Amid this frantic amount of C-NS activity, Liverpool got in just one game last week, but made it count as it ripped Corcoran by a score of 69-32.

Controlling matters from start to finish, the Warriors had 11 different players earn at least one point. Precious Sneed stepped up for a career-best 12 points, while Lexi Emmi also had 12 points.

Just behind them, Drew Dufrane had nine points, with Kaleigh Young getting eight points and five rebounds. Trisha Lane got seven points as Holly Sleeth and Kyra Grimshaw both finished with six points, Grimshaw adding seven rebounds, four steals and two assists.

So Liverpool took an 11-6 record into Tuesday night’s game at 12-3 Fayetteville-Manlius, after which it returns home Friday to face Henninger before closing the regular season Feb. 9 at West Genesee.