Even with 15 wins in its last 16 regular-season games and a no. 5 seed in the Section III Class B playoffs, the Cazenovia girls basketball team got close to seeing all of it dissipate in the tournament’s opening round at the expense of its neighbors from Chittenango.
In fact, the no. 5 seed Lakers trailed the no. 12 seed Bears for large segments of Friday night’s clash at Buckley Gym, and didn’t escape until Danielle Tedesco’s last-second jumper pulled out a 40-38 victory.
This game was far removed from the Jan. 31 meeting on this same court where Cazenovia handled Chittenango from start to finish in a 53-29 romp that marked an unpleasant return to Buckley Gym for Kassie Kleine, the former Lakers star who is now the Bears’ head coach.
Even the fact that the Bears were held to five points in the first quarter of the playoff rematch didn’t change that theme, because the Lakers were cold at the start, too, owing to both strong defense on the other end and inevitable post-season nerves.
So Chittenango only trailed 9-5 when, at the start of the second period, it rattled off seven consecutive points to grab the lead. More lead changes followed, but the Bears still took a 25-22 edge to the break.
One big difference, at least in the early going, was that Ally Shoemaker, Chittenango’s leading scorer, wasn’t shut down. She had 10 first-half points, more than double her total from the four points she was limited to in that first encounter with the Lakers.
The Bears stayed in front until Cazenovia scored the last six points of the third quarter to regain the lead, 32-30, only to see Chittenango answer in the final period once Shoemaker returned to action.
All told, Shoemaker had 18 points, but the defenses still took over for most of the homestretch, every basket proving precious as, entering the final minute, the Lakers and Bears were even, 38-38.
Just when it was needed, Cazenovia’s defense forced a shot-clock violation, and the Lakers had the ball with 11.8 seconds to play. Inbounding the ball from the right side, the Lakers passed it twice until Tedesco, catching the ball near the point, lofted a contested shot that fell through the net with 2.7 seconds left.
Though Chittenango had one more chance to tie or win the game, it could not convert. The game-winning basket gave Tedesco 15 points for the night as Lucy Connor added 10 points and Saige Ackermann got eight points. Lindsey Lawson gained five points.
Other than Shoemaker, no other Bears player scored in double figures. Mekenzie Dahlin finished with seven points, while Rachel Cleary had six points and Morgan Shoemaker got five points.
With that win, Cazenovia earned a trip north to Adams to face no. 4 seed South Jefferson in Tuesday night’s sectional quarterfinals. The Spartans beat Lowville 59-44 in its first-round game.
