Last weekend proved quite eventful in area high school girls basketball, whether it was the rematch between Bishop Ludden and Westhill or the road trip that West Genesee made to Poughkeepsie to face top-level competition.
It all began with the Gaelic Knights and Warriors at it again just five days after Westhill had pulled away for a 59-41 home victory on Dec. 10.
Now, playing on its home court, it was Ludden’s turn to prevail, relying on a strong inside game and improved defense to beat the Warriors by a score of 54-48.
Right from the outset, the Gaelic Knights had a firmer grasp on how to slip through Westhill’s defensive fronts, constantly going inside to the likes of Aurora Deshaies and Amarah Streiff for possessions and baskets.
And even when the Warriors erased an early deficit and tied it 27-27 by halftime, Ludden stuck to that plan while, on the other end, it did a strong job containing Erica Gangemi, holding her scoreless after she got 14 points in the first meeting, and also limiting Mackenzie Martin to 10 points.
Every time it was needed, Deshaies, who finished with 21 points, and Streiff, who had a season-best 18 points, converted, with help from Lauren Petrie as she got nine points.
Try as it could, Westhill could not catch up after falling behind again in the second half, though Jenna Larrabee and Catherine Dadey both had 15 points and Imani Watts got eight points.
As this was going on, West Genesee, fresh off its big wins over Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool earlier in the week, found itself in the Our Lady of Lourdes Tournament in Poughkeepsie.
Here, the Wildcats took its first loss of the season, falling 71-55 to Ursuline (Section I). WG led 16-6 after one quarter, only to have the Koalas outscore them 22-10 the rest of the half and gradually pull away in the last two periods.
Mackenzie Smith had 18 points, but Madison Smith was held to seven points, something the Wildcats could not quite overcome despite Catie Cunningham’s 11 points. Tara Osterdale had six points as Kaitlyn Walker and Meredith James had five points apiece.
WG turned it around, though, the next day as it beat the host team, Lourdes, 60-53, breaking out in front by outscoring the Warriors 15-8 in the second quarter, the same place where it ran into trouble against Ursuline.
They played on even terms the rest of the way, the Wildcats hanging on as four players reached double figures. Mackenzie Smith had 18 points and Madison Smith roared back to form with 17 points as Cunningham got 12 points and Walker stepped up, too, with 11 points.
