Whether on stages large or small, the reality for the Skaneateles basketball teams is that, as long as they both remain in the Onondaga High School League Liberty division and Class b ranks, they’ll both have to measure up to Westhill.
So it was again last Thursday night as a pair of basketball games took place between the Lakers and Warriors – and each time, Westhill got the best of it.
At Skaneateles, the reigning state Class B champion Warriors won the boys contest 68-49, while at Westhill the girls Lakers looked for a signature win but got frustrated in a 65-42 defeat.
As the night got underway, the Skaneateles boys stood one victory from clinching a Section III playoff berth, but were facing a Westhill side fuming from a rough performance in a loss to Bishop Ludden earlier in the week.
The Lakers had to endure a long scoring drought in the second quarter, yet only trailed 33-23 at halftime before Westhill, fueled by hot outside shooting from Sean Dadey and Zechariah Brown, outscored Skaneateles 22-14 in the third quarer to get away.
Dadey, who had 26 points, and Brown, who got 17 points, each hit on five 3-pointers. That eclipsed any Lakers individual as Kenny Peterson led the hosts with 12 points, with Tommy Reed and Jack Canty getting 10 points apiece
Sporting a better record, the Skaneateles girls took that 13-3 mark to Westhill, but quickly found the state Class B no. 11-ranked Warriors quite tough to deal with, especially senior guard Katelyn Karleski.
When Skaneateles threatened to stay close in the early stages, Karleski and fellow senior Morgan Elmer hit on back-to-back 3-pointers. Of far more damage, though, was Karleski’s 14-point outburst in the second quarter.
This helped break the game open as Westhill closed the half on a 14-3 run and led 39-20 at the break. Even with an 8-0 run to close the third quarter, the Lakers could not recover.
Olivia Dobrovosky had 14 points, but saw many good shots clang off the rim. Ryley Pas’cal had 10 points, with Hannah Atkinson and Chloe Metz getting six points apiece.
Karleski finished with 22 points as teammate Mackenzie Martin, like Dobrovosky a 1,000-point scorer in her junior year, added 16 points.
In the last full week of the regular season, the Skaneateles boys would have three games, hosting Institute of Technology Central and Jordan-Elbridge with a trip to Chittenango in between.
Another important road test awaited the Skaneateles girls at Hannibal Tuesday before it returns home Thursday to face Bishop Grimes.
