The neighborhood rivalry between Westhill and Bishop Ludden will reach an even more intense peak Sunday night at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall, where the two will square off in girls basketball with a berth in the Section III Class B championship game at stake.
They both got there by winning in Wednesday night’s quarterfinal round on their respective home floors, with top seed and state no. 2-ranked Westhill counting on its defense to turn back Bishop Grimes 46-29 and no. 4 seed Ludden getting a career-best performance from Laura Patulski when it defeated Sherburne-Earlville 74-52.
Everyone was aware of the unique circumstances involving Westhill’s encounter with Grimes. They were situated in this same round a year ago, only the Cobras were the top seed – and the Warriors, as the no. 8 seed, upended them 46-44 and went on to win the sectional title.
Now wanting its own upset, Grimes, who also lost to Westhill twice in the regular season, gained a 15-9 first-quarter lead. But the Cobras would not even score 15 points the rest of the night.
Westhill’s relentless defense started to take a toll during the second quarter, when it held Grimes to four points and, with its own offense finding a rhythm, charging into a 25-19 lead at intermission.
Neither side produced much again until the fourth quarter, when the Warriors got away with a series of baskets as Katelyn Karleski finished with 13 points and Mary Kate Washburn added 11 points.
Though Delaney Martin (eight points) and Mackenzie Martin (six points) had modest offensive totals, their combined work on Grimes’ top player, Azariah Wade, keyed the victory, Wade only getting seven points as Mackenzie Martin finished with seven blocks.
A far different game took place down the road at Bishop Ludden, where the state no. 10-ranked Gaelic Knights would find Sherburne-Earlville, the no. 5 seed, as quite a headache – at least until Patulski, with more than a little help from Danielle Rauch, blitzed the Marauders during a decisive third quarter.
S-E had a 1,000-point scorer in Danielle Irwin, and she hit on most of her 23 points (including five 3-pointers) during a first half where the Marauders and Gaelic Knights traded baskets.
Early in the third quarter, Ludden still trailed, 31-30, but then Patulski and Rauch erupted, each of them scoring 10 points during a 25-3 run that all but decided the game.
Patulski had taken advantage of the lavish defensive attention S-E gave to Rauch, constantly getting open and constantly converting throughout the game. By the time it was over, Patulski had produced 36 points.
Meanwhile, Rauch, who passed 1,000 career points in Ludden’s first-round win over Jordan-Elbridge, had her 10th triple-double of the season, accumulating 17 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Sara Hayes chimed in with 10 points.
And now Ludden, the only team to beat Westhill this season (59-46 on Dec. 10), will try to end the Warriors’ 16-game win streak, with the prize a spot in the Feb. 28 sectional final at SRC Arena against South Jefferson or Skaneateles.
