Deep into January, the Cazenovia girls basketball continued to surge.
Once 0-3, the Lakers made it seven wins in a row by going to Solvay and playing a near-perfect first half on the way to beating the Bearcats 59-38.
When it wasn’t putting in a string of baskets, Cazenovia was containing Solvay’s attack in a big way. The combination of those two events helped the Lakers lead 33-8 at halftime, a margin that wasn’t challenged the rest of the way.
Danielle Tedesco proved unstoppable, combining nine field goals, one of them a 3-pointer, and six free throws into 25 points for the night. Lindsey Lawson had 14 points, while Saige Ackermann surged with 11 points. No Bearcats player had more than the seven points put up by Aleah Yaizzo and Nadea Davis.
Back on the road Thursday night, the Lakers faced Marcellus, and it would prove tense from start to finish, the game drifting beyond regulation before Cazenovia took charge in overtime and gained a 63-58 victory over the Mustangs.
What was true throughout the game was that neither side could establish any sort of margin. Up 19-17 after one period, the Lakers saw Marcellus gain a 30-28 edge by halftime, and the lead swapping continued throughout the second half, too.
Both teams had chances to win at the end of regulation, but at 52-52 the battle drifted into four minutes of OT, where Cazenovia again showed its ability to play well in the clutch as it outscored the Mustangs 11-6 in that extra period.
Lawson continued to establish herself as a rising star, pouring in 26 points to lead all scorers. Lucy Connor stepped up for 14 points, five of them successful free throws, while Ackermann hit a pair of 3-pointers and got 13 points overall. Tedesco added eight points as Liz White (18 points, 10 assists) and Eve Hughes (11 points, nine rebounds) paced Marcellus.
So the Lakers would carry an eight-game win streak into Monday’s home test against Sherburne-Earlville, part of a big week that includes a Thursday trip to state Class B no. 3-ranked Bishop Ludden before facing Jordan-Elbridge on Saturday.
An 11-1 start had propelled Chittenango all the way to no. 13 in the state Class B rankings. Then reality hit hard as, up against Bishop Ludden last Tuesday night, the Bears were humbled and overwhelmed by the torrid pace set by the Gaelic Knights, ultimately taking a 76-39 defeat.
What Chittenango had hoped for was that Ludden would let down a big after a tough win over defending Section III Class B champion Westhill three days earlier in the Pathfinder Bank Zebra Classic at Le Moyne College.
That didn’t happen. Instead, things were quick from the opening tip, which started to bother the Bears during the second quarter as the Gaelic Knights outscored them 14-6.
And Ludden’s margin kept growing over the next two periods as Aurora Deshaies poured in 28 points, making Chittenango play for its attention given to Danielle Rauch, who still had 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals and three blocks.
Chittenango’s own main star, Ally Shoemaker, did all she could with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Mekenzie Dahlin finished with eight points and four rebounds as Trisha Whaley got six points and Sydney Bennett earned five rebounds.
Now the Bears hoped that it could put up a better fight against another traditional power when Westhill visited on Thursday night. It did prove closer, but Chittenango lost again, falling 50-30 to the Warriors.
Shoemaker paced Chittenango with 13 points to go with five rebounds and six steals, but no other Bears player had more than the five points put up by Cassidy Kelly as Whaley contributed six points.
On Westhill’s side, Mackenzie Martin poured in 19 points, with nice balance behind her as Morgan Elmer earned nine points, Erica Gangemi gained eight points and Katelyn Karleski and Jenna Larrabee earned seven points apiece.
