No longer does the West Genesee girls basketball team hope for good results and, perhaps, a run at league or Section III honors. It expects them.
The Wildcats’ unlikely run to last year’s Section III Class AA championship game, combined with the fact that eight-time defending champion Cicero-North Syracuse lost all five starters, has raised the stakes for head coach Stafford Spreter and his players going into 2016-17.
Thus, it was important for WG not to mishandle the preliminaries before CNY Counties League play began, and it passed the first test last Wednesday night, traveling to Oswego and getting off to a near-perfect start that made the difference in a 62-46 victory over the Buccaneers.
Between intense defensive pressure and baskets from turnovers, the Wildcats did everything right in the first quarter, eventually building a 19-4 margin. Oswego curbed that run a bit by halftime, but WG then outscored the Bucs 22-13 in a hot-shooting third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Madison Smith finished with 19 points, nearly half of it from three successful 3-pointers. Haley Collins chimed in with 15 points, while Kaitlyn Walker got 10 points. Camryn Chawgo had seven points and Mackenzie Smith added six points. Oswego got 12 points from Laura Bonheimer and 10 points from Adeline Benjamin.
While the girls Wildcats prepared for games this week against Rome Free Academy and Bishop Kearney, the West Genesee boys basketball team began its season last weekend by sweeping both games in the he Howland Division of the Stop DWI Tournament in Binghamton.
Each of the last two seasons, the Wildcats were upended by Bishop Ludden in the sectional Class AA quarterfinals, including a painful 51-50 defeat in 2016 that only felt worse after the Gaelic Knights went on to win the sectional title.
Head coach Fred Kent brings back a solid nucleus of players that includes guard Malik Zachery, whose all-around skills were on full display in Binghamton during last Friday’s 72-50 victory over Kennedy Catholic, from Westchester County.
‘Only in front 14-12 after one period, WG proceeded to blitz the Gaels during a 20-4 second-quarter push. The Wildcats’ lead grew to 55-29 after three periods as Zachery worked his way to 27 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Kennedy Catholic couldn’t concentrate on Zachery, either, since Jack Bova, another returning starter, finished with 18 points and three steals, while Nate Phillips got 10 points and six rebounds. Liam Barry had seven points and Marcus Hudgins contributed five rebounds.
Then, a night later, WG met Binghamton, who had lost to Nottingham 46-34 the night before. The Patriots were not as stingy against the Wildcats, who rode the hot hands of Zachery and Bova to an 81-66 victory over the Patriots.
Unable to miss in the first quarter, WG scored 33 points in those eight minutes and eventually led Binghamton 54-34 at the break, During that time, Zachery accumulated 20 points, while Bova’s 17 points included four successful 3-pointers.
That pace couldn’t be sustained, but the Wildcats weren’t caught, either, Zachery finished with 31 points, while Bova got 20 points and Lucas Sutherland gained a double-double, earning 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Owen Cross added seven points as Phillips, who received the tournament’s Tom Schwern Award for his hustle and effort, joined Bova and Sutherland on the Howland Division All-Tournament team and Zachery claimed MVP honors.
In Tuesday night’s home opener, WG would face another Section IV team, Owego Free Academy, before hosting Utica Proctor Friday night.
