When the Chittenango girls basketball team got its own turn to host a holiday tournament on Dec. 29-30, it just wanted to make some headway against ultra-strong competition.
In the opening round, undefeated Skaneateles beat Auburn 63-47 before the host Bears took on Oneida in a low-scoring affair not decided until the waning seconds, when Chittenango fell to the Indians 43-40.
All game long, the two sides traded modest runs, with the Bears pulling even, 30-30, at the end of the third quarter after trailing 20-17 at halftime.
Yet the Indians regained the lead, helped by Ella Rainbow, Julianna Cavanagh (11 points each) and Lauren Skibitski (10 points) as Ally Shoemaker gave Chittenango 13 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Emily Moon finished with 12 points and nine assists as Cassidy Kelly got eight points, seven rebounds and four assists.
So it was the Bears against Auburn in the consolation game, and it turned into a thriller, with Chittenango putting together a big third quarter and needing every bit of it to hold off a late Maroons rally and pull it out 64-62.
Defensive struggles in the first half led the Bears to a 32-25 deficit, but it turned things around by nearly doubling Auburn’s total in a 27-14 third-quarter burst.
To hang on, Chittenango needed Shoemaker to nearly earn a triple-double, getting 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, plus three steals as Mekenzie Dahlin also had 18 points, adding five assists and three steals.
Kelly managed 10 rebounds to go with her seven points as Alivia Narolis and Giuliana Farr both earned eight points. Auburn got 21 points from Stephanie Gera and 18 points from Grace Baranick.
The final would see Oneida hand Skaneateles its first defeat of the season, 69-58, as tournament MVP Lauren Skibitski had 23 points and six rebounds, with the Lakers’ Olivia Dobrovosky getting 21 points and surpassing 1,000 points for her career.
At the start of the new year, Chittenango faced another difficult test in last Wednesday’s game at Whitesboro, who proceeded to hand the Bears a 57-26 defeat.
Cazenovia was set to resume its season last Thursday against state Class B no. 5-ranked Bishop Ludden, but it got snowed out. The Lakers are set to take on Chittenango this Thursday night after a Tuesday game against Mexico.
