Heading into February, the Westhill girls basketball team was steeled by all of the major tests it had gone through in recent weeks, having only taken defeats to Bishop Ludden and Indian River.
Another tough week got underway last Monday at Bishop Grimes, where a quick start and nice balance in its attack allowed the Warriors to get past the Cobras 59-51.
Westhill seemed to hit every shot in the first quarter and barreled its way to a 23-14 lead. For the rest of the game, Grimes attempted to catch up, never letting the Warriors get away, but also not putting together the sustained run it needed.
Mackenzie Martin, with 19 points, paced a well-balanced Westhill attack. Katelyn Karleski gained 12 points, while Jenna Larrabee had 11 points and Morgan Elmer earned 10 points. Brianna Squier led Grimes with 17 points.
Back home on Thursday night, Westhill would take on Skaneateles, who brought a 13-3 record, but could not stop Karleski from taking charge as the Warriors rolled past the Lakers 65-42.
Any early concerns were erased by back-to-back 3-pointers by Karleski and Elmer in the opening minutes that put Westhill ahead for good. But Karleski saved her best work for the second quarter.
With Skaneateles threatening to hang around, Karleski broke out for 14 points in that period, helping the Warriors build a 39-20 halftime advantage and all but putting the game away.
Karleski finished with 22 points as Martin got 16 points, with Larrabee and Imani Watts earning eight points apiece. Skaneateles’ 1,000-point scorer, Olivia Dobrovosky, had to work hard for her 14 points as Ryley Pas’cal added 10 points for the Lakers.
Bishop Ludden, still no. 5 in the state Class B rankings, had managed to defeat Grimes 54-52 on Jan. 27 without Danielle Rauch in the lineup due to a combination of illness and injury. She was still out for last Monday’s game at Mexico, but the Gaelic Knights had no trouble handling the Tigers 70-23.
Ludden built a 38-11 lead by halftime and shut out Mexico in the third quarter as Jayden Burney stepped up with 15 points, six rebounds and four blocks.
Grace Murry added nine rebounds as Olivia Boyea had 14 points, with Karleigh Leo getting 12 points and Aurora Deshaies earning 11 points. The Gaelic Knights’ game with Chittenango on Friday was snowed out.
Solvay inched closer to a post-season berth in last Tuesday’s 39-37, overtime victory over Altmar-Parish-Williamstown. A strong third quarter gave the Bearcats a 26-21 lead, but the Rebels rallied in the final minutes of regulation.
Going to overtime at 34-34, Solvay outscored APW 5-3 in that extra frame, ultimately needing every bit of the 16 points and eight rebounds from Aleah Yaizzo. Nadea Davis had 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals as Carly Devereaux added seven points.
In a Saturday game between Marcellus and Jordan-Elbridge, the Mustangs rallied late and pulled out a 49-46 decision over the Eagles to improve its overall record to 4-13.
Steady play had helped J-E go in front 38-33 going into the final period, but the Mustangs saved its best work for those last eight minutes as it closed the game 16-8 to get in front.
Claudia Leubner led Marcellus with 14 points and six rebounds. Hannah Durand had 10 points and seven rebounds, with Kade DeMarle getting nine points and five rebounds. Mei LaMarre added seven points.
J-E’s Ashley Eaton earned eight of her game-high 16 points at the free-throw line. Alexis Braun had 11 points, with Kate Goodrich and Allison Jennings each putting up eight points.
Before this, Marcellus lost, 52-42, to Chittenango last Wednesday night, staying close until the Bears outscored them 16-10 in the fourth quarter. LaMarre had 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while Emma MacLachlan had 10 points and Leubner added seven points.
J-E could not recover from a poor first half in last Tuesday’s 62-33 loss to Christian Brothers Academy, who shut down the Eagles for most of the first half and built a 33-10 margin.
Jennings (12 points), Eaton (eight points) Katie Goodrich (seven points) helped J-E fare better in the second half, but it proved too late. CBA’s Brooke Jarvis and Maura Clare Conan each had 13 points and Olivia Carni added 11 points.
