What a difference a week – and higher stakes – can make.
The Fayetteville-Manlius girls basketball team found out this lesson in the most cruel way possible, the no. 3 seed Hornets falling 48-33 to no. 6 seed Liverpool inTuesday night’s Section III Class AA quarterfinal.
These same two teams had met on this same court seven days earlier, and the Hornets prevailed 46-36. But the Warriors had beaten F-M 48-39 back on Jan. 17, so it had confidence despite sporting a 9-10 regular-season record, far removed from the Hornets’ 15-5 mark.
Right from the start, the Warriors’ defense displayed top form, holding F-M to four points in the opening period. That built up confidence which withstood the Hornets’ second-quarter awakening, and at halftime Liverpool clung to a 21-18 lead.
Throughout the second half, any hint of F-M trying to establish its own rhythm got interrupted. Instead, Liverpool steadily added to its lead while, at the same, increased its defensive pressure, one side helping the other.
Jenna Wike led the Warriors’ attack. Of her 18 points, half of it came from three 3-pointers, while Amanda Barnell established herself inside and got 14 points. The rest of the offense came from Kyra Grimshaw and Breanna Socker, who earned eight points apiece.
For the Hornets, Alexis Schneider had 10 points and Elizabeth Hall added eight points. Lily Fish added five points as Carly Assimon got four points. Abbey Harris and Alexis Gray got three points apiece.
Instead of a continued quest for a long-elusive sectional title, F-M, instead, saw its season end and will have to part with five seniors – Assimon, Harris, Hall, Reilly Baker and Natalie Amico – who were part of successful teams that couldn’t quite go all the way to the top. Schneider, Fish, Gray and Alexandra Vinci lead a strong returning cast for 2017-18.
Bishop Grimes is not done, though, as the no. 2 seed Cobras upended no. 10 seed Phoenix 61-41 in its sectional Class B quarterfinal.
This mirrored what had taken place on Dec. 8 on this same court. Grimes had handled Phoenix 57-35 that night, little imagining that the Firebirds would turn things around in mid-season and pick up several big wins, including a shocking comeback to knock off Bishop Ludden on Jan. 19.
Regardless of what had taken place in those two months, the Cobras’ strategy was the same – contain Phoenix’s 1,000-point scorer, Samantha Doupe, which it did, to a reasonable degree, holding her to 10 points and a pair of 3-pointers.
Trailing 14-13 after one period, the Cobras moved ahead for good by outscoring the Firebirds 17-8 the rest of the half. And it didn’t let up as a high-scoring third quarter saw Grimes extend its lead to 52-35, out of Phoenix’s reach.
Phoenix never had an adequate answer for Azariah Wade, who poured in 27 points from nine field goals and nine successful free throws. Abby Wilkinson hit on four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points overall as Molly McInerney got eight points and Sarah Snavlin got six points.
Now Grimes (18-3) gets yet another chance to get past its nemesis, two-time defending champion Westhill, in Sunday’s sectional semifinal at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall.
The no. 6 seed Warriors, who beat no. 3 seed Hannibal 51-46 in its sectional quarterfinal, knocked out the Cobras 46-29 in the quarterfinals a season ago and also beat Grimes in another 51-46 decision on Jan. 9, a game McInerney missed due to illness and Wade fouled out.
