Even as the Cazenovia girls basketball team sprinted out to a 3-0 start, it had to deal with roster changes that didn’t hurt right away, but would prove damaging against higher-quality foes.
When the Lakers ventured to Westhill last Monday night, it could not recover from a slow start and watched the Warriors pull away to prevail in a 61-29 decision.
Many of these same players had faced each other a month earlier in the girls volleyball Section III Class B final, but while Cazenovia won that match, here Westhill proved too tough.
Mackenzie Martin netted 11 of her game-high 18 points in the first quarter, five more than what the Lakers could produce as, throughout the game, it struggled to establish any rhythm against Westhill’s swarming man-to-man pressure.
Other than Katie Ammann, whose 12 points included three 3-pointers, and Lindsey Lawson, who got 11 points, Cazenovia managed just two field goals, one each by Jamie Joseph and Hannah Matteson.
Given a few days to recover, the Lakers would host Marcellus Friday night, but even that rest didn’t keep Cazenovia from falling to the Mustangs 42-37.
What made the difference was the start for Marcellus, who jumped to a 15-7 edge on the Lakers through one quarter and then nursed that lead the rest of the night.
Lawson tried to help Cazenovia rally, getting 11 points as Joseph had nine points and Lucy Langan earned eight points. But the Mustangs held on with a well-balanced attack that saw Emma MacLachlan earn 10 points, Hannah Durand nine points and Mei LaMarre and Sam Wynne eight points apiece.
Meanwhile, Chittenango, off to a 1-1 start, looked to climb above .500 last Tuesday at Hannibal, but never could get going against this other group of Warriors, taking a 53-35 defeat.
The Bears never recovered from a first quarter where it scored just three points. Gradually, the production picked up as Cassidy Kelly got 11 points, with Ally Shoemaker and Emily Moon each getting seven points.
Shoemaker also had seven steals, eight rebounds and five assists, with Alivia Narolis getting five rebounds and Makenzie Dahlin four rebounds, but Hannibal maintained its lead as Katie Pitcher earned 12 of her 24 points at the free-throw line and McKenzie Mattison added 13 points.
Back home two nights later, Chittenango took on 2-0 Bishop Grimes, and took a 55-28 loss, the pressure of the Cobras proving too much for the Bears to deal with for long stretches.
For example, Chittenango got outscored 20-5 in the first quarter. It recovered for a brief time, with Moon getting eight points and nine rebounds as Narolis added seven points and three rebounds.
However, Shoemaker was held to five points, though she added five steals, four rebounds and three assists. Grimes wasn’t spectacular on offense, yet still Bri Squier (15 points) and Abby Wilkinson (13 points) combined to match the Bears’ entire total.
Chittenango’s only game this week was a Friday trip to Westhill, a day after Cazenovia faces Bishop Grimes and before the Lakers take on Nottingham Saturday afternoon.
