For the Cazenovia girls basketball team, the Section III Class B playoffs began, on an unofficial note, one game early.

Either the Lakers prevailed at Mexico in last Tuesday night’s regular-season finale, or it wouldn’t go any further in the 2017-18 season, having fallen short of the eight wins needed to reach the actual sectional tournament.

If Cazenovia felt any extra pressure, it didn’t show on the court as, not taking the 0-19 Tigers lightly, the Lakers prevailed 64-21, cruising to a 30-15 halftime lead and not letting up in the late going as it shut out Mexico in the fourth quarter.

Lindsey Lawson led the way, scoring 19 points as Madison West got 12 points. Julia Barrett managed eight points, just ahead of Katie Ammann and Lucy Langan, who had seven points apiece.

It didn’t help Cazenovia that it had to face defending sectional Class B champion Bishop Ludden the night before at Buckley Gym. The Lakers lost, 77-38, to the Gaelic Knights.

Ammann still managed 10 points, with West and Hannah Matteson getting six points apiece. But Lawson was held without a field goal by Ludden’s imposing front line, paced by Aurora Deshaies, who had 16 points and seven rebounds.

The Gaelic Knights’ University of Michigan-bound senior, Danielle Rauch, put together 12 points, 10 assists, four steals and five rebounds as teammates Karleigh Leo and Lauren Petrie also had 12 points, Leo getting all her production from four 3-pointers.

The irony of Cazenovia’s do-or-die game with Mexico was that Chittenango played them the night before and routed the Tigers 76-19, with four players scoring in double figures beside Ally Shoemaker’s nine points, 10 assists, eight steals and five rebounds.

Mekenzie Dahlin led with a season-best 15 points, adding five rebounds, three blocks and five assists. Emily Moon got 12 points, six steals and four blocks.

Giving the Bears a bit more depth, Julia Nourse set a career mark as she matched Moon’s 12 points and Giuliana Farr poured in 11 points, also a career high.