It took more than a month, and eight games, for someone to topple the Skaneateles girls basketball team.
The Lakers’ seven-game win streak lasted until the Dec. 30 final of the Chittenango Holiday Tournament, when an inspired Oneida Indians side jumped out in front and stayed there, handing Skaneateles a 69-58 defeat.
Still, the tournament was a success for the Lakers because, in the Dec. 29 opening round, it managed to claim bragging rights over its neighbors from Auburn.
Skaneateles defeated the Maroons 65-47, in large part because of the way it played during a dominant first half, where it showed that a week-long break had not cooled things off following a 6-0 start.
Impressive on both the offensive and defensive ends, the Lakers roared to a 39-16 advantage on Auburn. That pace could not hold up, but Skaneateles did more than enough in the second half to answer any time the Maroons threatened to make it interesting.
Olivia Dobrovosky struck for 29 points, including four 3-pointers. Auburn couldn’t focus on her, either, because Chloe Metz was putting up 14 points and Hannah Atkinson was adding 12 points. The Maroons’ Stephanie Gera poured in 28 points, but no other Auburn player had more than two field goals.
Oneida held off host Chittenango 43-40 to reach the finals, but though it played the second of two games and had a far closer result, the Indians had plenty left for the Lakers.
Steady production from multiple players helped Oneida build a 53-38 lead through three quarters. That proved too much to overcome.
Dobrovosky still had 21 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, but it was her driving lay-up in the game’s final minute that meant the most because it helped Dobrovosky surpass 1,000 career points, with her 85-year-old grandmother Helen in attendance to witness the proud occasion despite dealing with a cold during the holiday season.
To win, the Indians put four players in double figures. Tournament MVP Lauren Skibitski had 23 points and six rebounds, with Ella Rainbow getting 16 points. Sydney Lusher had 13 points, four rebounds and five assists as Julianna Cavanagh got 12 points.
No one, other than Dobrovosky, got into double figures for Skaneateles, though Atkinson and Ryley Pas’cal each picked up nine points. Metz had six points and Maeve Canty got seven points.
Weather postponed a trip to Hannibal last Thursday, and the Lakers would have to face state Class B no. 5-ranked Bishop Ludden Tuesday just 24 hours after a game with Homer, and before this Thursday’s home game against ITC/Fowler.
