The weekend of Dec. 14-15 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.
On Dec. 15, 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 again 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.
Having played each of its first five games on the road, WG finally had its home opener Wednesday, against Fayetteville-Manlius, and put on quite a show on both ends to flatten the Hornets 71-24.
F-M never could operate much in the face of the Wildcats’ fierce defense, which did not let up one bit even as it built a massive lead, eventually growing to 64-16 by the end of the third quarter.
Walker got a chance to shine, too, and nearly matched the Hornets by herself by scoring 22 points. Mackenzie Smith gained 16 points as Cunningham earned eight points and Madison Smith had six points.
Westhill would venture to Cazenovia last Tuesday and mostly lean on its defense to push past the Lakers 44-31. With Martin held to six points, Larrabee and Watts led the way, each earning 15 points.
As that went on, Marcellus, coming off back-to-back defeats to Westhill and CBA, had quite a showing last Tuesday, nearly shutting out Mexico in the first half and going on to crush the Tigers 62-6.
It was 42-2 at halftime, the Mustangs’ effort led by Emma MacLachlan, who poured in 16 points as Sarah Fallon had 14 points. Kade DeMarle got eight points as Shannon Kellar and Mei LaMarre had seven points apiece and Hannah Durand got six points.
