For its work during the holiday break, the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse girls basketball teams would find their way to the Amsterdam Tournament, and find the opposition (four different Section II teams, three of them state-ranked)
In fact, C-NS would have to face host Amsterdam in last Tuesday’s opening round. Sitting at no. 24 in the state Class AA rankings, the Rams proved worthy of that mark, beating the Northstars 64-48 in a game where it built up a 38-19 halftime edge.
Forced into catch-up mode, C-NS did produce well in the second half and got all nine players that saw action on the scoreboard. Yet no one had more than Julianna Vassallo’s 10 points, with Mackenzie White adding nine points as Nia Williams and Jessica Cook got seven points apiece.
Hours later, Liverpool, in a separate tournament division, played its opening-round game against another strong Section II side, Bethlehem, and while the Eagles were unranked, it still beat the Warriors 59-47.
Hot shooting in the first quarter produced a 19-14 Liverpool lead, but Bethlehem pushed back and edged in front, 28-27, by halftime. Gradually, as the second half wore on, the Eagles got away despite Kyra Grimshaw (15 points), Jenna Wike (12 points) and Bre Socker (11 points) all reaching double figures. Amanda Barnell added six points.
Now Liverpool had to face state no. 16-ranked Shenendehowa on Wednesday night, and the Plainsmen handled the Warriors 73-37. Grimshaw, with 20 points, accounted for more than half of her team’s points and added eight assists. Wike added eight points and five rebounds.
This followed the game between C-NS and Columbia, undefeated and no. 9 in the state AA rankings. The Northstars lost a 55-37 decision, having seen the Blue Devils built up a 48-23 edge through three periods.
Held to just three points in the third quarter, C-NS still had Cook finish with 12 points, the only Northstar in double figures. White earned seven points, with Nia Williams and Isabella Kingsley gaining six points apiece.
