When the Section III Class B playoff pairings came out, the Skaneateles girls basketball team found itself with the no. 8 seed, a solid reward for a 14-6 regular season.
And if the Lakers could get past no. 9 seed General Brown in Friday’s opening round, a chance to knock off top seed and defending champion Bishop Ludden would present itself.
Yet at the worst possible time, things went wrong for Skaneateles, who started slowly against the Lions and never could fully recover, seeing its season abruptly end with a 51-40 defeat.
Right from the opening tip, the Lakers found itself unable to string together baskets on a consistent basis. And its defense couldn’t quite do enough to make up for those struggles.
GB played with poise and confidence, steadily building a 27-14 lead by halftime. In the third quarter, the Skaneateles attack came to life, shrinking the margin to single digits, 38-30, with ample time in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback.
But the Lions didn’t let that happen, making several key stops and a nice inside-outside balance from Kylee Rosbrook, who had 16 points, and Rachel Black, whose 11 points included three 3-pointers.
Olivia Dobrovosky was contained well, as she had to work hard for her team-high 13 points. Some help came from Olivia Navaroli, who had 10 points, and Chloe Metz, who got nine points.
Given how much it had struggled in the regular-season homestretch against top-flight opponents, Skaneateles needed a win against Altmar-Parish-Williamstown in last Tuesday’s regular-season finale to gain some momentum before the playoffs.
The Lakers got that victory, handling the Rebels 52-38. Skaneateles outscored APW 18-8 in the second quarter to build a 28-17 halftime lead, which allowed it to survive a third-quarter slump where it got held to five points.
Though Dobrovosky was held to four points, the Lakers still got away late as Navaroli led with 12 points. Hannah Atkinson had 10 points, while Ryley Pas’cal had nine points and Julia Cirincione had six points.
Atkinson and Pas’cal combined for just six points against General Brown, and the Lakers’ promising second season under head coach Camille Murphy concluded, with Atkinson and Cirincione graduating, but the likes of Dobrovosky, Metz, Navaroli and Pas’cal all set to return for 2018-19.
