Though it made things quite interesting at the end, the Bishop Grimes girls basketball team could not quite catch Bishop Ludden in last Thursday night’s showdown of state-ranked championshipo contenders.
The Cobras cut a 12-point deficit to just three in the final minute, but that would be as close as it would get as the Gaelic Knights rained three free throws in the game’s final seconds to hang on for a 51-45 victory.
Both teams entered the game ranked in the state’s Class B top-25—Ludden at no. 8 and Grimes at no. 17—and were tied atop the OHSL Liberty American Division. Adding motivation for the Gaelic Knights was the fact that it had never won on the Cobras’ home floor.
Grimes started quite well and, late in the first quarter, led 11-5, And it appeared to get better when Ludden’s best player,Danielle Rauch, picked up her second foul. But even with Rauch on the bench, Ludden cut its deficit to just two, and when she checked back in to start the second quarter, the Gaelic Knights went on a 6-0 run to take a 15-11 lead. Ludden would not trail again.
A 3-pointer by Grimes guard Abby Wilkinson cut the Gaelic Knights’ lead to just one, but back-to- back lay-ups by Laura Patulski and Rauch pushed the score to 27-22 heading into the break.
Ludden opened up the third quarter on another 6-0 run to push its advantage to double digits and it maintained that margin through the rest of the period. Rauch then scored five straight points to start the fourth, giving Ludden its largest lead of the contest, 46-34. For the night, Rauch finished with 20 points, eight assists, five steals and five rebounds.
Despite all this, Grimes wasn’t done. Over the next four minutes, the Cobras went on an 11-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back layups from Azariah Wade, to make it a one possession game. Wade finished with a game-high 22 points, with Wilkinson adding 16 points.
Still, in the waning seconds Patulski hit a free throw and forward Aurora Deshaies followed with two more, sealing the victory for Ludden. Deshaies grabbed 17 rebounds to go with her 14 points.
Grimes rebounded on Saturday in a tough game against Chittenango as the Bears put up a superb effort – except for a pivotal third quarter where Grimes took control and eventually prevailed 62-51.
Throughout the first half, Chittenango and Grimes traded baskets, and they went to intermission 26-26. Led by Wade, though, the Cobras outscored the Bears 19-8 in the third quarter, exactly matching the eventual margin as Wade finished with 31 points off 10 successful field goals and 11 free throws. Brianna Squier added 12 points.
Morgan Shoemaker paced Chittenango, earning 16 points as Grimes honed in on Ally Shoemaker had held her to eight points, though Ally did get nine steals, four assists and three rebounds.
With a climb back to no. 3 in the state Class A rankings, Jamesville-DeWitt was recognized for both the brutal schedule it undertook this winter and the fact that few local opponents had come close to scaring them.
To start the last full week of the regular season, the Red Rams hosted Oswego, deciding matters with a first-quarter shutout on the way to handling the Buccaneers 58-27.
Oswego came into the game with a 13-4 record, yet was unable to generate anything in the course of the opening period. During those first eight minutes, J-D humbled the Bucs and roared out to a 16-0 lead.
That shutout streak ended in the second quarter, but the damage was rendered, and a 14-5 third-quarter push made things more lopsided, Four Rams players scored in double figures, led by Julia Kelner, who had 17 points. Meg Hair and Gabby Stickle both hit a pair of 3-pointers, finishing with 10 points apiece as Jamie Boeheim also had 10 points. Momo LeClair’s pair of 3-pointers led to six points.
Two nights later, hosting Fulton, J-D again won with ease, ripping the Red Raiders 85-15 as a 22-2 first quarter set the night’s tone. Kelner nearly doubled Fulton’s total by herself, amassing 29 points as Hair earned 11 points. LaClair had nine points and Sydney Baker seven points as every Rams player got at least one field goal
Christian Brothers Academy, ripped 66-14 by J-D a week earlier, returned on Saturday and got a tough 46-40 victory over Auburn, rallying in the fourth quarter to improve to 9-9 on the season.
They were on even terms until the Maroons took a 33-29 lead in the third period. Down the stretch, though, the Brothers hit all the key shots and played superb defense on a closing 17-7 run. Olivia Carni’s four 3-pointers accounted for most of her team-high 16 points as Brooke Jarvis finished with 13 points and Nafysa Williams got seven points.
A season full of struggles for East Syracuse Minoa turned bright for a moment in last Tuesday night’s game against Onondaga, where Brigid McGinley and Loren Clifford helped the Spartans top the Tigers 48-41.
Much of the game was a tight, back-and-forth battle, ESM leading 22-19 at halftime, but surrendering that advantage as OCS pulled even, 33-33, heading to the fourth quarter. During those last eight minutes, though, the Spartans sparkled on defense and held the Tigers to eight points while moving back in front for good.
McGinley finished with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. Clifford did most of her work at the foul line, with 11 of her 15 points coming from free throws as Sam Valentine gained 10 points. OCS saw Jessika Southard earn 12 points and 11 rebounds as Karleigh Wucher got 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
