Everyone in Section III Class AA girls basketball senses a major opportunity, and Baldwinsville is not immune from those hopes and dreams.
The eight-year dominance of Cicero-North Syracuse, which continued well after Breanna Stewart went on to her historic success at Connecticut winning four NCAA titles and four Final Four Most Outstanding Player awards, could end this winter as all five starters from 2015-16 have departed.
B’ville, as much as any other challenger, worked in the shadow of the Northstars, with Bees head coach Kathy Morse constantly producing strong teams and constantly seeing those efforts thwarted by C-NS, both in the regular season and post-season.
Now, though, B’ville is poised for a championship push of its own, and made a loud opening statement by roaring to easy victories in both of its games during last weekend’s annual Bill Middleton Tip-Off Tournament at the Baker High School gym.
In the opening round on Friday, the Bees faced Camden and crushed the Blue Devils 59-16, getting all of the points it needed in an 18-2 first quarter where the fast tempo was set and relentless defensive pressure caused a steady stream of Camden turnovers.
Kaylee Lammers led the offense, earning 16 points, while Claire McAllister put together 11 points and seven rebounds. Alena Criss had 10 points as Carolyn Brussel gained seven points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Katie Pascale had six points as Rachel Foertch matched McAllister’s total of seven rebounds, adding four assists.
Just before this, Phoenix won the other opening-round game, topping Geneva 59-39, setting up Saturday’s final between the Bees and Firebirds that essentially proved a copy of the first round, B’ville proving too much as it pulled away for a 70-28 victory.
One difference from the Camden game, though, was that the Bees waited until the second quarter to seize control, outscoring Phoenix 17-4 in that frame to establish a 28-11 margin that kept on growing throughout the second half.
All 10 B’ville players that saw action recorded at least one field goal, though Brussel led the way, pouring in 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Lammers got 13 points.
Pascale and McAllister both earned eight points, Pascale adding six assists and four steals as McAllister contributed five rebounds and three steals. Jenna Costello stepped up with seven points and six rebounds, while Meaghan Wilson had eight rebounds and four blocks to go with her five points.
Since B’ville is playing a tournament in mid-December at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex in Florida, it would have a 16-day gap between the end of the Middleton Tournament and its first CNY Counties League game on Dec. 12 against Corcoran, which immediately precedes the Disney trip.
