An era of Cicero-North Syracuse girls basketball ended on the same court where it won back-to-back state Class AA titles in 2011 and 2012.
Section II champion Shenendehowa fended off several Northstar rallies and pulled away for a 56-44 victory in the Class AA regional final last Saturday at Hudson Valley Community in Troy.
The loss ended the careers of eight seniors who were part of the last state championship squad, including McKayla Roberts, Beth Bonin, Mary Kate Bonanni and Samantha Tortora, who started every game the last two seasons. Ashley Jimenez, Jada Kims, Marissa Felasco and Mackenzie O’Hara were also part of the senior group.
“They meant a lot to the program,” said C-NS coach Eric Smith. “(They’re) a special group of kids who played very hard today. The basketball gods just weren’t with them today.”
Entering the game, C-NS had a perfect 23-0 record and no. 2 state ranking. The Northstars also remembered that it lost in this same regional round to Bethlehem a year ago, and was bent on changing that outcome – but Shenendehowa, who had needed a last-minute comeback to beat Albany to win the Section II title, did not cooperate.
Shen pulled out to a 16-6 lead over the first eight minutes of the game, and C-NS never fully recovered. Though the Northstars closed the gap to as little as four points, they couldn’t get the critical baskets they needed to get any closer.
A lot of that had to do with Shen’s defense. Whenever C-NS got within striking distance, the Plainsmen came up with a critical stop at the defensive end, and then one of its many weapons – Carly Boland, Sydney Brown, Samira Sangare, Cameron Tooley or Morgan O’Brien – made a shot at the other end of the floor to extend Shen’s lead again.
“They were smart defensively,” said Smith. “They were bigger than us, and they were disciplined.”
Roberts and sophomore forward Amani Free did what they could to keep C-NS in the game. Roberts scored 17 points, including three baskets from beyond the three-point arc, and Free contributed 16 points.
However, that wasn’t enough to overcome Shen’s balanced attack. Tooley led the way with 11 points, while Sangare netted 10 points. Brown, Boland and O’Brien each added nine points, with Brown also contributing 15 rebounds.
Shen advances to this weekend’s state final four at HVCC, while C-NS bids farewell to a group of talented seniors, led by Roberts.
“She (Roberts) is the second-best player in Cicero-North Syracuse history, as far as I’m concerned,’ said Smith, comparing her to Breanna Stewart. “She’s just a gritty kid who does whatever it takes to get the job done.”
