Now in its second season under head coach Camille Murphy, the Skaneateles girls basketball team was bent on moving back into the ranks of Section III Class B and OHSL Liberty division contenders.

In order to do so, the Lakers first had to prove itself against a non-league foe, traveling to Tully Tuesday night and claiming a tough season opener as it beat the Black Knights 48-43.

A big second quarter keyed the Lakers efforts. Trailing 14-7, Skaneateles outscored Tully 23-12 in that frame to gain a lead that it spent the entire second half protecting through a defense that improved as the game went on.

Olivia Dobrovosky, with 14 points, led a well-balanced offense as Chloe Metz, with 11 points, also hit double figures. Hannah Atkinson had eight points and Ryley Pas’cal added six points as Maeve Canty (five points) and Racheal Smith (four points) also contributed. Jessica Donald paced Tully with 15 points.

For its home opener Thursday night, Skaneateles took on archrival Marcellus, who had lost its opener to Weedsport. After a rough start on both ends, the Lakers, with a big third-quarter surge, did enough to get a 53-43 victory over the Mustangs.

Both sides had a difficult time in the first half, and cold-shooting Skaneateles was fortunate to find itself still leading 15-14 at the break.

However, the Lakers found its rhythm during the third quarter, outscoring Marcellus 23-9, and that gave itself a cushion against a late Mustangs surge where Hannah Durand (14 points), Sarah Fallon (13 points) and Grace Hoey (11 points) all reached double figures.

The difference was that Skaneateles had all nine of its players get on the scoresheet. Dobrovosky and Olivia Navaroli each led with 11 points, while Pas’cal got eight points. Julia Cirincione gained seven points and Metz finished with six points.

Skaneateles plays just once next week, venturing to Jordan-Elbridge Wednesday in pursuit of a third consecutive win.