One aspect any championship team must possess is the ability to beat an opponent several different ways. The West Genesee girls basketball team is fitting nicely into that unique category.
While many factors were in its favor during a 54-33 victory over Fayetteville-Manlius night, from a home court to a depleted Hornets lineup, the Wildcats still did more than enough to offer discouragement to other Section III Class AA contenders.
WG had already beaten F-M once this season, doing so by a 61-48 margin on Dec. 20. The difference a month later was that the Hornets didn’t have its top forward, Alexis Gray, in the lineup due to illness, though it did return Abbey Harris after she was out for several weeks.
Either way, F-M had, following that first meeting with the Wildcats, won seven in a row before falling to Liverpool 48-39 earlier in the week, so it remained an important game for WG if it wanted to keep the chasing pack in the CNY Counties league behind them.
Essentially, the Wildcats decided things in the first quarter, not so much in that it sprinted out to a 22-10 lead, but the way it happened.
Things were even until Mackenzie Smith, in the span of barely more than a minute, hit two 3-pointers, with a steal and lay-up in between created by WG’s full-court pressure.
All told, the Wildcats sank six 3-pointers in that opening period, with Elle Lazore, Camyrn Chawgo, Mya Case and Madison Smith all connecting beyond the arc by quarter’s end to join Mackenzie Smith.
The rest was left to WG’s defense, already a game-changer, but now hurting the opposition many different ways. Whether with full-court pressure, half-court pressure or with some zone looks, the Wildcats bothered the Hornets all night, especially in a third quarter where a 12-2 run put it out of F-M’s reach.
Once again, WG spread around its production, Mackenzie Smith finishing with 14 points as Chawgo added 13 points. Collins and Madison Smith had seven points apiece and Case gained six points.
On Tuesday night, just as F-M was falling to Liverpool, WG was hosting Corcoran and conducting a defensive clinic, nearly shutting out the Cougars in the second quarter as the highlight of a 45-24 victory.
Having just claimed the no. 25 spot in the state AA rankings, the Wildcats broke things open when it outscored Corcoran 14-2 in that pivotal second period. A 19-4 third-quarter surge followed.
All nine players in WG’s rotation netted at least one field goal, but none had more than the 10 points put up by Case and Madison Smith. Kailyn Walker and Haley Collins contributed six points apiece.
Now, after sweeping F-M, the Wildcats get its first shot at Liverpool Tuesday night, trying to build upon an 11-2 record and perfect 7-0 league mark before hosting Cicero-North Syracuse next Friday.
