Even with the pair of defeats it took in New York City over the long Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team did not fall out of the top spot in the state Class A rankings.
But the Red Rams were steeled by those defeats, and when it returned to local action, it passed a tough test last Wednesday night as it went to Central Square and got a 71-46 victory over the Redhawks.
Central Square arrived at this game with a 6-2 record of its own, but J-D’s defense bothered them throughout the first half, proving the keystone as the Rams amassed a 32-18 advantage by the break.
Jamie Boeheim led the offense, getting 18 points, and she could thrive in the paint because J-D had six different players hit on 10 3-pointers, two each by Meg Hair, Paige Keeler, Sydney Baker and Kasey Vaughan.
Overall, Hair had 16 points, with Andrea Sumida stepping up as she got 14 points. Baker, Keeler and Vaughan had six points apiece, all from those 3-pointers as Bre Ransom led Central Square with 19 points.
An easy win over East Syracuse Minoa followed on Friday, J-D prevailing 79-27 as Hair matched the Spartans by herself with a 27-point effort. Boeheim gained 18 points, with Momo LaClair adding 14 points as Stickle produced 14 points.
A bit of history was made when J-D defeated Oswego 67-34 on Saturday afternoon. In front of the home fans, Hair scored 19 points and, by doing so, became the program’s all-time leading scorer, breaking a mark that stood for more than 20 years.
The game itself didn’t have much suspense as the Rams zoomed to a 33-10 halftime lead, Hair and Keeler each hitting three 3-pointers as Keeler got 13 points overall, with Boeheim adding 11 points, Stickle eight points and LaClair six points.
Fayetteville-Manlius, who had narrowly missed an upset of defending Section III Class AA champion West Genesee on Jan. 11,got the big victory it was longing for last Saturday night when it went to Baldwinsville and knocked off the Bees 54-52.
In the second quarter, the Hornets broke out of a tie and seized a 28-22 halftime lead. B’ville, who had an 11-2 record going into the game, pulled back within one, 41-40, setting up a tense finish.
Somehow, the Hornets made it through as Lexy Gray, with 14 points, led a well-balanced attack. Lexie Roe and Alexandra Vinci each hit a pair of 3-pointers as Roe got 13 points and Vinci nine points, with Alexis Schneider picking up 11 points.
Before this, F-M prevailed against Corcoran, topping the Cougars 44-35. Defense carried the Hornets most of the way as it held Corcoran to four points in the first quarter and remained strong for a while, ultimately building a 35-19 lead through three periods.
Lily Fish led F-M with 13 points, while Roe earned half of her 10 points at the free-throw line. Gray had eight points and Alexandra Vinci finished with seven points.
Christian Brothers Academy would take on Skaneateles last Wednesday night, and perhaps encouraged by the effort it gave against Bishop Ludden earlier in the week, the Brothers recorded its best win of the season, handling the Lakers 48-35.
Even with a 10-2 record going into the game, Skaneateles would see the Brothers take control in the second quarter, where it outscored the Lakers 15-7 to gain a 25-18 halftime edge.
For the rest of the game, CBA turned back every Skaneateles run and expanded its margin, mostly through its defense, but also through balanced scoring.
Skye Ryan had 13 points, with Hannah Brooks contributing 10 points as Brooke Jarvis and Olivia Carni earned nine points apiece. Skaneateles 1,000-point scorer Olivia Dobrovosky managed 16 points to lead her side.
On Friday, CBA faced Class AA power Cicero-North Syracuse, who was coming off a defeat to West Genesee earlier in the week and did not have its best player, Amani Free, in the lineup.
Still, the Brothers could not take full advantage, losing to the Northstars 65-37 as a 19-9 first quarter set the tone for C-NS. Jarvis had 13 points and Emily Hall got 11 points, but the rest of the CBA roster had just five total field goals.
ESM went to Oswego last Wednesday night and lost, 66-16, to the Buccaneers, who outscored them 25-2 in the first quarter and went from there. Only Holly Carr, with six points, had more than one field goal for the Spartans as Adeline Benjamin paced the Bucs with 15 points.
