Though it finished second in the CNY Counties League regular-season standings, the Fayetteville-Manlius girls basketball team accepted that outcome and resolved to finish first when it really mattered – in the Section III Class AA playoffs.
The Hornets ended up with the no. 3 seed in the eight-team bracket, setting up a quarterfinal Tuesday night against no. 6 seed Liverpool – the very same team it had just beaten in the regular-season finale one week earlier.
F-M went into the post-season with plenty of momentum from a six-game win streak capped off last Tuesday night when, thanks to its depth and defense, it got even with Liverpool in what amounted to a sectional preview, prevailing by a score of 46-36.
This was the same Warriors side that beat the Hornets 48-39 on Jan. 17. Four weeks later, and back on its home court, F-M was at full strength and would lean heavily on its defense to get even with Liverpool on Senior Night.
F-M held Liverpool to three points in the first quarter, and the Warriors didn’t get to double digits on the board until the third period. By the time they reached the fourth quarter, the Hornets, despite its own uneven production, led 31-17, enough to withstand the Warriors’ late outburst.
Alexis Schneider led F-M with 14 points. Lizzie Hall had nine points, with Alexandra Vinci getting eight points and Alexis Gray adding six points. On Liverpool’s side, Kyra Grimshaw led that push, matching Schneider’s total of 14 points. Jenna Wike and Amanda Barnell had seven points apiece, but no one else had more than one field goal.
On the boys side, F-M was not going to the sectional playoffs, but stood up well against CNY Counties League regular-season Liverpool in last Tuesday’s season finale for a while before the Warriors got away and beat the Hornets 73-50.
At least F-M made plenty of 3-point shots. Tim Zapisek had four of them on his way to 22 points as Nick Goodfellow connected three times beyond the arc on his way to 13 points. Jawaan Crouch added seven points as Nahjeir Johnson led Liverpool with 19 points and Charles Pride got 18 points.
The Hornets’ first season under head coach Jason Dudzinski ended with a 4-16 record, which was a bit deceptive since it lost by single digits in most o f its defeats.
