For one night, the Cicero-North Syracuse girls basketball team reverted to a form that it though it had left behind in the 2016-17 season.
Yet the Northstars’ struggles in a 58-38 defeat to West Genesee last Tuesday night in Camillus had an easy explanation – Amani Free was out due to an injury suffered in a tournament in New York City the weekend before.
C-NS had gone 1-1 in that tournament, falling to Whitney Young, from Chicago, but then beating Nazareth 62-48 as Jessica Cook managed 22 points and Free got 16 points. Julianna Vassallo and Mackenzie White had six points apiece.
Now, without Free, the Northstars were dealing with a WG side that had won six straight since C-NS beat them 58-53 in mid-December, a game that featured 32 points from Free, who could not help now.
Knowing this, the Wildcats settled matters with a first-quarter blitz that produced a flurry of baskets and a 25-7 advantage. For the rest of the night, C-NS was in catch-up mode.
Jessica Cook did pick up 15 points, but the next-highest scorer, Julia Rowe, had just seven points. WG’s Mya Case led her side with 16 points, including three 3-pointers, as Alyesha Castanon matched Case with three 3-pointers and Madison Smith got 10 points.
A busy weekend followed, with C-NS hosting Christian Brothers Academy on Friday and, still short-handed, putting things together to roll past the Brothers 65-37.
Bolting out to a 34-20 halftime lead, the Northstars continued to pull away behind an attack that got more comfortable the second time it didn’t have Free in the lineup.
Cook, with 17 points, was one of four players to hit double figures. Isabella Kingsley gained 13 points, with Rowe and Julia White each finishing with 12 points.
Free would return for Saturday night’s makeup of a snowed-out Jan. 5 game against Nottingham, which turned into a tense battle that spilled into overtime before C-NS could pull out a 57-54 decision over the Bulldogs.
All game long, Nottingham proved tough, containing the Northstars’ attack for a majority of regulation. Yet C-NS overcame a 33-29 deficit in the fourth quarter as Free helped pick up the pace and tie the game, 50-50.
C-NS then outlasted the Bulldogs in a low-scoring OT period as Free finished with 24 points, helped by Cook, who had 15 points, and Rowe, who got 10 points. Lauryn Winthrow paced Nottingham with 16 points.
Earlier in the week, Liverpool faced its own tough test against Nottingham, but made a stirring second-half comeback to stun the Bulldogs 50-49.
This was the same team the Warriors struggled to beat 52-45 back in December, and the rematch got more harrowing as Nottingham jumped all over Liverpool, leading 19-4 after one quarter.
Things didn’t turn around until the third period, when the Warriors, with a 17-4 push of its own, erased most of the Bulldogs’ 34-17 halftime advantage. Then it caught up and passed Nottingham in the waning moments.
Kyra Grimshaw led that comeback, pouring in 21 points. Amanda Barnell had eight points, with Jenna Wike getting seven points and Holly Sleeth six points. For Nottingham, Naviae Williams had 16 points and Jakiya Howard added 14 points.
The Warriors would have an easier time beating Henninger 66-38 Friday night. A 40-16 first-half blitz decided things early as Wike hit five 3-pointers and Grimshaw connected twice beyond the arc, each of them finishing with 19 points as Barnell added 14 points.
Now Liverpool will take its second shot at C-NS when the pair meet Friday in a joint doubleheader similar to the one they had on Dec. 22 where the C-NS girls prevailed 49-35, but only after the Warriors have games against Auburn and Corcoran earlier in the week.
