Onondaga — With a perfect record and no. 2 state ranking, it surprises no one that the Cicero-North Syracuse girls basketball team is on the brink of an eighth consecutive Section III Class AA championship, with much more in mind.
What was a surprise, though, was that Liverpool, the no. 6 seed in the sectional AA tournament, nearly earned a spot against the Northstars in the sectional title game, denied only by a late-game comeback by no. 7 seed West Genesee in a 43-36 defeat in last Sunday’s semifinal at SRC Arena.
In the first of the two semifinal games, C-NS put together another lopsided victory, turning back no. 4 seed Utica Proctor 75-36. Then it watched as Liverpool, who had lost twice to West Genesee in the regular season, tried to claim the third and most important encounter with the Wildcats.
Helped by a pair of Drew Dufrane 3-pointers, the Warriors led, 10-4, late in the first quarter, only to go into a seven-minute drought that stretched deep into the second period. But Liverpool recovered enough to close the half on a 10-2 run thanks to key baskets from its reserves.
Neither side could gain any sort of separation for most of the second half, but midway through the fourth quarter the Warriors appeared ready for another fast finish. Jenna Wike earned five of her game-high 13 points as Liverpool went in front, 35-31, with less than four minutes left.
But it was WG who would make the last surge, sparked by Elle Lazore, whose back-to-back 3-pointers, including one with 1:30 left, put the Wildcats ahead for good, 37-35. Then Madison Smith hit four free throws in the final minute and Mackenzie Smith tacked on a basket as part of WG’s closing 12-1 burst.
No such drama was found in the first of the sectional AA semifinals. C-NS roared to a 25-8 first-quarter lead on Utica Proctor, with senior Beth Bonin leading the way. Bonin produced 15 first-half points, and while the Raiders did improve a bit in the second quarter, the Northstars still led, 36-18, at halftime.
continued — Then Bonin and Samantha Tortora made sure of the outcome by keying a 26-9 sprint through the third quarter. Normally the anchor of C-NS’s stout defense, Tortora poured in 20 points on this night to complement Bonin’s eventual total of 22 points, while McKayla Roberts chimed in with 10 points. Ashley Jimenez added seven points.
Liverpool’s post-season push started with last Wednesday night’s Class AA quarterfinal, where the Warriors went to no. 3 seed Baldwinsville and, for the second time in as many months, surged late to beat the Bees, this time by a 69-59 margin.
They had split their regular-season games, B’ville winning early in December, but Liverpool countering a month later with the presence of two key players (Wike and Kyra Grimshaw) who weren’t in the lineup for that first meeting due to injury.
Now the Bees and Warriors would battle through a close, fast-paced first half. Liverpool led, 16-11, through one period, but led by Emily Pascale, who scored nine of her 17 points in the second quarter, B’ville surged in front, 29-25.
Grimshaw turned the game around, though netting eight points, including the last four of the half, to put the Warriors ahead for good, 31-29, by halftime. Energized by that surge, Liverpool led by as much as 11 in the third quarter before the Bees fought back and got within five, 46-41, early in the final period.
Then it was Wike’s turn. Having scored 12 fourth-quarter points to rally her team past B’ville 54-48 in their last encounter, Wike again saved her best work for the homestretch, including a 3-pointer that sparked a pivotal 12-2 run.
That helped stretch Liverpool’s margin to 58-43, and even when the Bees, thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers, got back within seven, 66-59, Wike’s pair of free throws helped seal it. Of Wike’s 23 points, 11 of them came in the final period as Grimshaw (17 points), Dufrane (14 points) and Trisha Lane (10 points) also hit double figures.
continued — Pascale augmented her 17 points with six rebounds and three assists, while Riley Carlucci gained 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Carolyn Brussel put together 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists as Kaylee Lammers also had 10 points.
As that went on, C-NS, as the top seed, entered the post-season fray and made it 21 wins in a row with a business-like effort against no. 8 seed Rome Free Academy, defeating the Black Knights by a score of 56-29.
When it charged out to a 17-7 first-quarter edge, it looked like just another one-sided romp for the Northstars, but then it relaxed the rest of the half and RFA, who lost last year’s sectional final to C-NS, stayed within sight and only trailed 29-18 at the break.
This didn’t sit well with the Northstars, who promptly went on a 19-4 push through the third quarter to put RFA away.
Amani Free, with 18 points, did the most damage as Bonin and Roberts, in their last games on C-NS’s home court, each hit double figures, too – Bonin with 11 points, Roberts with 10 points.
Utica Proctor fell next, and when West Genesee rallied past Liverpool, the sectional final, set for this Sunday at 6:30 at SRC Arena, was set.
C-NS beat the Wildcats twice in the regular season by similar margins of 66-39 (on Dec. 17) and 66-34 (on Jan. 28) and are looking for a third win to extend its sectional title streak and go after a third state title in the program’s history.
