In the quest to get Camille Murphy her first coaching victory, the Skaneateles girls basketball team continued to test itself and stand up well to the competition, even if wins remained elusive.
Central Square, who faces Class A foes in the OHSL Freedom division and then jumps up to Class AA for the Section III playoffs, visited last Tuesday night, and the Lakers led them through much of the first half, but could not hold on to it and took a 57-47 defeat to the Redhawks.
A slow start on both sides was quickly erased by an exchange of baskets late in the first quarter. Skaneateles emerged from that struggle with a 13-12 lead and then extended that edge to 20-16 early in the second period, forcing Central Square to use a time-out.
For the rest of the half, the Redhawks’ defense took over, holding the Lakers to four points in the last five-plus minutes while inching into a 28-24 lead. That momentum carried over into the third period and Skaneateles saw its deficit grow to double digits.
By the time it stopped the slide, the Lakers were out of Central Square’s reach. Olivia Dobrovosky, with 13 points, led a well-balanced Skaneateles attack as Chloe Metz got 10 points, Riley Pascal nine points and Julia Cirincione eight points.
Central Square only had five different players on its scoresheet, but that included Maddy Besaw, who poured in 24 points, half of it from four 3-pointers. The Lakers couldn’t key on Besaw, either, since Lauren Bell was scoring 15 points and Breanna Ransom was earning 14 points.
Two nights later, at Solvay, Skaneateles gave Murphy that first coaching win, the Lakers defeating the Bearcats 48-40 in large part due to Dobrovosky’s hot shooting hand in the early going and the defense it played throughout the night.
Clinging ton an early lead, Skaneateles pulled clear with a second-quarter barrage where, led by Devereaux, it outscored Solvay 23-6 to take a 31-10 halftime lead, plenty of cushion for when the offense cooled down and the Bearcats tried to storm back, led by Aleah Yaizzo (15 points) and Elle Hodge (12 points, 10 rebounds).
Skaneateles held on not just because Dobrovosky finished with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, but also because she had a lot more help. Four different Lakers – Metz, Cirincione, Hannah Atkinson and Olivia Navaroli – got six points apiece, with Pascal adding five points and Kyra Cottrill a single field goal.
Now at 1-2, Skaneateles could look ahead to next Thursday night’s visit from neighbor and rival Marcellus, its only game during the week.
