What happened with the Cicero-North Syracuse girls basketball team as it took on Nottingham Thursday night looked quite familiar to long-time Northstars followers.
Instead of displaying the inevitable struggles of a young and unproven roster, the Northstars reached into its recent past and controlled matters from tip-off to final horn as it blew past the Bulldogs 51-22.
While many factors, especially youth, affect the way things have gone for C-NS this winter, one inevitable issue is defense, for in its eight-year Section III Class AA title run the Northstars were built around shutting the opposition down.
It happened here against Nottingham, with the Bulldogs held to seven points in the first quarter – and that was the high point. Relentless pressure stymied Nottingham most of the way and allowed C-NS to not put as much heat on its own attack to produce baskets.
Still, Jessica Cook nearly matched the Bulldogs by herself, finishing with 21 points and getting solid help from Julianna Vassallo, who earned 13 points .Ariana Corasaniti earned six points and Aniah Ingram got five points.
Also successful against a city opponent, Liverpool went to Corcoran Friday night and handled the Cougars 46-20, not even allowing a point until the second quarter, by which point the Warriors already owned a double-digit advantage.
Kyra Grimshaw, with 13 points and five assists, led Liverpool’s attack. Jenna Wike had nine points and five assists, while Holly Sleeth had seven points and seven rebounds, plus four assists. Amanda Barnell also got seven points as Marissa Pisegna gained five rebounds.
