Two neighbors, long successful in girls basketball, reunited twice in a six-day span last week, and in between another neighbor stepped into the fray to challenge one of them.
And it all started last Monday night, with Bishop Ludden visiting Westhill. As if the memorable battles the two sides have shared in recent years wasn’t reason enough to pay attention, the Gaelic Knights’ new head coach, Carm Petrera, served for years as an assistant to long-time Warriors mentor Sue Ludwig.
That knowledge of each other only seemed to help Westhill on this occasion, though, as two sustained runs, plus balanced scoring and suffocating defense, helped the Warriors prevail 59-41.
The pivot point came in the opening minutes. Ludden led 7-2, helped by a pair of inside baskets from Aurora Deshaies, but Westhill forced Deshaies to go to the bench with two early fouls.
In her absence, the Warriors put together a 16-0 run to move in front for good, sparked by a defense that pressured the Gaelic Knights and forced a string of turnovers.
When Ludden threatened to climb back in it during the third quarter, Westhill ended those hopes with a 12-0 spurt that stretched into the final period.
Mackenzie Martin, with 15 points, led the Warriors as Erica Gangemi put in 14 points. Jenna Larrabee had 12 points and Catherine Dadey got nine points. Deshaies had 14 points, with Karleigh Leo (eight points) just ahead of Lauren Petrie (seven points) and Amarah Streiff.
Then came Saturday’s rematch, but this one belonged to the Gaelic Knights, who prevailed 54-48 by seizing an early lead and matching the Warriors every time it tried to catch up.
Dominating in the paint, Ludden saw Deshaies avoid the early foul trouble of the first meeting and score 23 points. Westhill couldn’t concentrate on her, either, since Streiff was putting in 16 points.
In between these games, Westhill had to answer the challenge of 3-0 Marcellus on Wednesday night, and the Warriors did so, roaring to a 73-46 victory over the Mustangs.
Right from the outset, the pace was quick, and facing severe defensive pressure, Marcellus found itself committing the same kind of mistakes that had doomed Ludden earlier in the week.
Not letting up one bit, Westhill led 41-24 by halftime and kept adding to that margin, Larrabee proving tough to stop in the paint as she poured in a career-best 22 points, with Martin adding 18 points.
The Mustangs could not concentrate inside, though, because Dadey was getting 17 points, including three 3-pointers, and Imani Watts hit on four 3-pointers to account for all of her 12 points.
In defeat, Marcellus still got a big performance from Hannah Durand, who led all scorers with 24 points, half of it from four 3-pointers. Kade DeMarle added 10 points, but Westhill held the rest of the squad to just five total field goals.
Ludden faced Jordan-Elbridge Thursday night and unloaded on the Eagles, prevailing 82-27 as it scored at will during the first half, especially during a 26-2 second-quarter blitz.
Deshaies led with 18 points, with Streiff adding 16 points. Keiara Odume had 11 points and Olivia Boyea got 10 points as Petrie had nine points, with Jayden Burney and Katie Costello getting seven points apiece. Ashlee Eaton led J-E with 11 points.
Marcellus, after the loss to Westhill, tried to rebound Friday at Christian Brothers Academy without an injured Katie MacLachlan, and played on even terms in the first half before the Brothers outscored them 17-3 in the third quarter.
Taking a 50-32 defeat, the Mustangs had Emma MacLachlan get eight points, with Sarah Fallon adding seven points and Mei LaMarrre six points. Most of CBA’s damage was done by Brooke Jarvis, who had 23 points, and Skye Ryan, who had 18 points
