In order to stay unbeaten going into 2017, the Bishop Ludden girls basketball team would have to pass major tests at its own inaugural Lady Knights Christmas Classic – something it couldn’t quite pull off.
The opening-round game on Thursday night pitted the state Class B no. 3-ranked Gaelic Knights against Fredonia, from Section VI. The Hillbillies would make things quite interesting all the way to the fourth quarter, but again Ludden came through and prevailed by a 64-48 margin.
During the first half, Ludden started strong on the defensive end, but Fredonia fought back and got within two, 25-23, by halftime. Gradually, the Gaelic Knights would get away, though it still took a 26-point fourth quarter to avoid a home upset.
Danielle Rauch finished with 23 points, much of it from converting four 3-pointers. Aurora Deshaies finished with 15 points, while Laura Patulski finished with 10 points and Taj Huddleston contributed seven points.
Ludden took a 7-0 record into Friday’s final against Cardinal O’Hara, from Buffalo, who beat Wahconhah (Massachusetts) 71-49 in the other opening-round game. The state Class AA no. 7-ranked Hawks had given state Class A champion Jamesville-DeWitt a tough battle earlier in December but had lost, 60-54.
Wanting a better outcome on this trip to Central New York, O’Hara got it thanks to senior guard Anndea Ziegler, whose virtuoso performance allowed the Hawks to edge the Gaelic Knights 74-70 in a pulsating game whose tempo was frantic from the outset.
Ludden wanted to run, and O’Hara didn’t mind doing so, leading to fast possessions and lots of transition baskets. The lead traded hands often in the first half, but the Canisius College-bound Ziegler stood out with 19 points, including a 3-pointer right before the halftime Hara that gave O’Hara a 40-36 edge at the break.
Despite nine points from Rauch in the third quarter, Ludden couldn’t get in front, but in the final period it did so twice, led by Patulski, who despite four fouls still managed 14 points overall as she and Ally Weigand hit key baskets in the waning minutes.
Even with that, the game was tied, 70-70, going into the final minute, and Ziegler proved impossible to contain. She drove for the go-ahead basket with 50 seconds left and, after an O’Hara defensive stop, again dashed to the hoop for a decisive layup with 15.2 seconds to play.
That gave Ziegler 37 points for the night, more than twice Rauch’s total of 18 points, and made her an easy choice for tournament MVP. Deshaies finished with 15 points, with Patulski adding 14 points and Weigand earning 12 points.
While all this was going on, Westhill was still celebrating coach Sue Ludwig’s 500th win in a thriller over previously unbeaten South Jefferson on Wednesday afternoon. Maybe that had something to do with a 55-42 defeat to Bishop Kearney at SRC Arena in Thursday’s championship game of the Hoops for the Hospital Tournament.
Held to seven points in the first quarter, the Warriors did move within four, 25-21, by halftime. But that was the team’s lone surge, Westhill unable to break through Kearney’s relentless defensive pressure on a consistent basis.
And while Katelyn Karleski finished with 14 points and Morgan Elmer (whose last-second 3-pointer beat South Jefferson) added 12 points, the Warriors saw Kearney contain Mackenzie Martin, holding her to nine points.
In other “Hoops for the Hospital” tournament action, Marcellus, who lost a narrow overtime decision to rival Skaneateles Wednesday night, came back a day later and, in overtime, pulled out a 76-71 victory over Holland Patent.
The Mustangs had led, 26-14, at halftime, only to see the Golden Knights erupt in the third quarter for 28 points, tripling its total. That ate up most of the deficit and, by the end of regulation, HP caught Marcellus and, at 63-63, sent it to OT.
With a four-minute OT period, the Mustangs regrouped and outscored HP 13-9 to pull it out. Sydney Lewis had 24 points, hitting on four 3-pointers, while Liz White dished out 12 assists to go with 18 points and five rebounds. Eve Hughes (who scored 34 points against Skaneateles) put up 16 points here, adding seven rebounds. For the Golden Knights, Ally Livesey had 22 points and McKenna Williams contributed 19 points.
Jordan-Elbridge dropped a close 58-55 decision to Moravia on Friday when it was unable to hold a lead it held most of the game, the Eagles outscored 23-14 in the fourth quarter. Alexis Braun had 16 points, with Emily Klock adding 12 points and Emily Somes earning 10 points. Annie Allwarg had six points.
