Of all the unlikely events in the West Genesee girls basketball team’s 2015-16 season, none of them would have approached knocking off undefeated, seven-time defending champion Cicero-North Syracuse in Sunday night’s Section III Class AA championship game at SRC Arena.
And while they handed out the Academy Awards that same night, this did not have the dream ending the Wildcats desired as the Northstars again proved far too good, prevailing by a 60-24 margin.
The two regular-season meetings between WG and C-NS had ended with the Wildcats falling by scores of 66-39 (on Dec. 17) and 66-34 (on Jan. 28). Still, both of those results were closer than most of the league games the Northstars had played.
In short, WG’s dilemma centered around trying to guess which of C-NS’s formidable starting five – McKayla Roberts, Beth Bonin, Amani Free, Mary Kate Bonanni and Samantha Tortora – would get the hot hand.
Plus, there was the matter of getting around the Northstars’ vaunted defense, which had a tendency to disrupt anything an opponent planned to do.
During the first quarter, the Wildcats got much of what it wanted, holding C-NS to one field goal in the first four minutes and holding its own on the boards. But a rash of turnovers helped the Northstars get extra chances and build a 15-4 lead, with Bonin earning eight of those points.
Deep into the second quarter, WG was within single digits, 18-9, bu then Roberts, with back-to-back drives for lay-ups plus a 3-pointer, produced seven points during a 10-0 run that accounted for much of the Wildcats’ 30-12 halftime deficit.
Trying to fight back, WG started rushing shots early in the third quarter, which was just what C-NS wanted. The Northstars’ 10-0 run included Bonin throwing a behind-the-back pass to set up an open lay-up for Roberts.
WG did not score a point for nearly five minutes and had just one field goal in the entire period. Meanwhile, Bonin worked her total to 20 points before she and the other C-NS starters exited early in the fourth quarter.
Regardless of the result, WG’s work and progress under first-year head coach Stafford Spreter was substantial, capped by those sectional playoff wins over two higher seeds, Fayetteville-Manlius and Liverpool.
With just four seniors (Mackenzie Smith, Kyra Bednarski, Megan Farmer and Stef Campagna) graduating and the likes of Elle Lazore, Mackenzie Smith, Madison Smith and Camryn Chawgo scheduled to return in 2016-17, greater things might happen yet.
