When the Section III Class B girls basketball playoff pairings were released, defending champion Bishop Ludden carried the top seed, with Westhill settling into the no. 5 seed.
This meant that, if the Gaelic Knights and Warriors both won twice in the early rounds, they would get together this weekend at Onondaga Community College in a hotly-anticipated sectional semifinal.
Ludden, still sitting at no. 5 in the state Class B rankings, would start out Saturday, facing no. 16 seed Homer, who had beaten Central Valley Academy 47-38 two nights earlier.
In a textbook effort, the Gaelic Knights rolled past the Trojans 74-43, getting just about everything it wanted as it steadily worked its way to a 59-36 lead through three quarters.
There was the all-around contributions of Danielle Rauch, who had 15 points, 10 assists, five steals, seven rebounds and two blocks. Flanking her in the backcourt, Karleigh Leo got the hot hand and hit four 3-pointers on her way to 14 points.
Inside, the duo of Aurora Deshaies and Amarah Streiff continued to control the paint as Deshaies had 17 points and 13 rebounds, with Streiff getting 15 points and seven rebounds. Homer got 18 points from its all-time leading scorer, Caley Cornwell.
A night earlier, Westhill dealt with no. 12 seed Phoenix, who carried a 12-8 record and wanted to prove that its 58-34 defeat to the Warriors a week earlier didn’t reflect its real quality.
But the Firebirds caught Westhill at a bad time. Angry that it had lost to Bishop Grimes earlier in the week, the Warriors proved its was playoff-ready by smothering Phoenix in a 56-31 victory.
Going into the second quarter, the Warriors led 15-10, but it proceeded to blank the Firebirds in those eight minutes, a shutout that included 17 unanswered points that all but decided the outcome.
Phoenix did a solid job containing Mackenzie Martin, holding her to seven points, but Katelyn Karleski poured in 18 points and Jenna Larrabee finished with 13 points as Sara Galante contributed eight points off the bench.
With the win, state no. 10-ranked Westhill advanced to a tough sectional quarterfinal Tuesday at no. 4 seed Oneida, who took out Lowville 58-41 in the first round. At 17-3, the Indians owned the no. 23 state ranking.
Meanwhile, Ludden would face no. 9 seed General Brown, who went on the road to knock off Skaneateles 51-40 in the first round.
Before all this, Marcellus, who had survived the loss of its only two seniors (Grace Hoey and Lauren Young) to season-ending injuries to sneak into the sectional tournament as a no. 19 seed, had a brief stay.
The Mustangs lost, 39-29, to no. 14 seed Chittenango last Thursday night, a result similar in margin to the 52-42 defeat it took to the Bears two weeks earlier, but not alike in terms of the way both sides defended.
At the outset, the Bears were quite productive, roaring to an 18-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. From there, though, Marcellus clamped down, especially in a third quarter where it held Chittenango to just four points.
That allowed the Mustangs to pull within six, 29-23 going to the fourth quarter, but the Bears made sure in the homestretch that Marcellus didn’t put together the one crucial scoring run it needed for a playoff upset.
Hannah Durand led Marcellus with nine points. Kade DeMarle had six points, while Sarah Fallon and Mei LaMarre got five points apiece.
For Chittenango, Emily Moon had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Ally Shoemaker gained nine points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists as Cassidy Kelly and Makenzie Dahlin each got eight points, Kelly adding six rebounds.
