While it proved a busy week for the Bishop Grimes girls basketball team, it was also a smashing success, capped by a smashing performance last Saturday night in a 60-31 win over Indian River at SRC Arena.
Even though it’s only lost once this winter (to Westhill on Jan. 9), the Cobras put everything together against the Warriors, a perennial Class A contender that was short-handed without its leading scorer, Paige Leonard, available.
Over the course of the second and third periods, Grimes outscored the Warriors 41-12, as Azariah Wade, with 17 points, led the way. Abby Wilkinson got 12 points, with Elizabeth Wolaver getting eight points. Brianna Squier had seven points as Jenna Sloan and Maria Naylor had five points apiece.
To start the week, Grimes routed the combined ITC/Fowler squad 73-29 last Tuesday, gaining a 57-20 lead through three quarters as all 11 Cobras players that saw action earned at least one field goal. Wade led with 18 points, while Squier earned seven of her 13 points at the foul line and Wilkinson added 11 points. Naylor got seven points and Sarah Snavlin had six points.
The Cobras then beat Pulaski 44-13 on Thursday night, with the defense more than making up for its struggles on the other end of the floor. Still, Wade, with 19 points, outscored the Blue Devils by six points as Wilkinson added nine points and Squier contributed eight points.
Christian Brothers Academy continued its January surge at Fulton last Tuesday night, beating the Red Raiders 51-37. The third quarter decided matters as the Brothers, down 24-20 at the break, outscored Fulton 19-8, its defense only allowing a handful of field goals the entire second half.
Mostly, CBA’s attack leaned on two players, with Nafysa Williams working inside to score 20 points and Brooke Jarvis matching that 20-point total with five free throws and a 3-pointer. Other than Williams and Jarvis, No other Brothers player had more than four points.
That surge was halted on Friday, though, in a tense 38-36 defeat to Oswego, and what made it worse was that CBA led 29-17 at halftime, only to surrender most of that edge in the third quarter and then score just two points in the final period.
Prior to that drought, Victoria Hall, with nine points, led the Brothers as Williams got eight points, Emily Hall seven points and Hannah Brooks six points. To pace Oswego’s rally, Sarah Casaletta poured in 16 points and Adeline Benjamin added 10 points.
Back on Jan. 14, East Syracuse Minoa lost, 52-47, to Solvay when the Bearcats outscored the Spartans 19-11 in the fourth quarter. Brigid McGinley had 15 points, with Loren Clifford adding 14 points and Sam Valentine adding nine points. Elle Hodge led Solvay with 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
A 70-43 defeat to Oswego took place last Tuesday, everything decided when the Buccaneers outscored the Spartans 27-4 in the second quarter.
Clifford, with 18 points, and McGinley, with 15 points, had strong outings as Valentine added seven points, but Oswego had 11 different players score points as opposed to ESM’s four, with Clara Culeton (18 points), Sarah Cassetta (14 points) and Adeline Benjamin (13 points) leading the Bucs.
Recovering on Friday night, ESM went to Mexico and beat the Tigers 45-34, and it was mostly a two-player effort. McGinley, with 21 points, accounted for nearly half the Spatans’ outfit, and much of the rest of it went to Clifford, who got 12 points as ESM improved to 3-9.
