Having ended a 23-year championship drought when it claimed the Section III Class AA title a season ago, the West Genesee girls basketball team have no intentions of waiting that long to win it all again.
The Wildcats saw two starters (Camryn Chawgo and Elle Lazore) graduate from 2016-17. Mackenzie Smith, Madison Smith and Haley Collins are back, as are the likes of Mya Case, Kaitlyn Walker and Catie Cunningham.
They would all get underway last Tuesday night against Christian Brothers Academy, who shot well at the outset, but gave in to the collective excellence of the Wildcats, who pulled away for a 61-40 victory.
The Brothers’ 16-11 advantage through one period was all the motivation WG needed, because it proceeded to outscore CBA 18-3 the rest of the half, and then continually add to its lead throughout the last two quarters.
Case and Mackenzie Smith both hit on three 3-pointers as Smith got 17 points overall and Case had 11 points. Cunningham, just a ninth-grader, had nine points as Collins and Madison Smith had eight points apiece.
WG played again on Saturday, against Bishop Kearney (Section V), and would struggle in a 77-52 defeat. Kearney outscored the Wildcats 22-8 in the first quarter and never got caught.
No WG player reached double figures, as Cunningham and Mackenzie Smith both had eight points. Walker, Madison Smith and Aleysha Castanon had seven points apiece as Collins got six points.
Bishop Ludden is also a defending sectional champion, with the school’s all-time leading scorer, Danielle Rauch, bound for the University of Michigan next fall – but not before a senior season where she could put up more dazzling numbers.
In last Thursday’s 83-22 season-opening win over Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, Rauch pulled off the rare quadruple-double, earning 15 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and 10 steals, but she was far from the only standout.
Aurora Deshaies put up 27 points and seven rebounds, while seventh-grader Amarah Streif made a tremendous debut, recording 19 points and eight rebounds as the Gaelic Knights look to replace departed seniors Meg Sierotnik, Ally Weigand and Taj Huddleston.
As that was going on, Westhill began its quest to dethrone Ludden, returning all five starters from a year ago and signaling its intentions Thursday at Mexico with a season-opening 66-8 destruction of the Tigers.
Mexico did not record a single point in the second and third quarters. Meanwhile, all 10 Warriors players that saw action got at least one field goal as Mackenzie Martin, with 13 points, and Brigid Heinrich, with 10 points, led the way. Katelyn Karleski and Jenna Larabee had eight points apiece as Morgan Elmer and Catherine Dadey each got six points.
Marcellus got underway last Tuesday at Weedsport, a game where rough starts to each half, and the big numbers by Brooke Hammersley, proved too much to overcome in the Mustangs’ 68-37 defeat.
Hammersley helped Weedsport bolt out to a 21-8 lead by the end of the third quarter. Marcellus calmed down a bit, but in the third quarter, the Warriors went on a 22-5 spurt to put the game away.
Nearly matching the Mustangs by herself, Hammersley finished with 32 points. By contrast, no Marcellus player scored in double figures as Kade DeMarle led with eight points, while Grace Hoey had seven points and Hannah Durand got six points.
At Skaneateles on Thursday night, Marcellus lost, 53-43, to the Lakers, who did most of its damage in the third quarter, when it outscored the Mustangs 23-9.
Despite a late surge that saw Durand (14 points), Hoey (11 points) and Sarah Fallon (13 points) all make contributions, the Lakers prevailed with five players getting six or more points, Olivia Dobrovosky and Olivia Navaroli leading the way with 11 points apiece.
Jordan-Elbridge also dropped its opener last Wednesday, at Cazenovia, taking a 42-20 defeat as it only managed to score four points in each of the first three quarters against a determined Lakers defense.
Just three Eagles player got on the board, with Alexis Braun (10 points) and Ashlee Eaton (eight points) accounting for all but one of J-E’s field goals and Jenna Melchior earning the other. Cazenovia got 18 points from Lindsey Lawson.
Solvay struggled for baskets in last Thursday’s opener, falling 65-12 to Bishop Grimes. All that the Bearcats could manage was just five points in the first three quarters, a rash of turnovers and missed shots leading to baskets on the other end.
Bri Squier and Abby Wilkinson both outscored Solvay by themselves, Squier getting 17 points and Wilkinson 14 points.
