If it’s January, then it must mean that the Westhill girls basketball team is, game by game, finding the kind of form that could produce a championship come March.
The Warriors already had won seven of eight (the lone blemish a late-December defeat to Nottingham) heading into last Tuesday’s game against visiting Chittenango, and with a fast start did enough to fight past the Bears 55-45 to make it four victories in a row.
As it turned out, the first quarter was quite decisive. Stingy on the defensive end and spreading its production around, Westhill built a 16-5 edge on Chittenango that it would spend the rest of the night protecting.
Westhill withstood every Bears comeback, with a balanced attack where Mackenzie Martin, who led with 13 points, was closely followed by Erica Gangemi and Catherine Dadey, each with 10 points. Then Jenna Larrabee and Imani Watts produced nine points apiece.
To its credit, the Bears didn’t go away. Ally Shoemaker had a game-high 16 points and 12 steals to go with five rebounds and five assists. Emily Moon had 11 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three assists, with Cassidy Kelly adding 10 rebounds and seven points.
As Westhill improved to 11-3 overall, Marcellus had a chance at a big win of its own when it hosted Oneida last Tuesday night, only to get overwhelmed in a 64-47 defeat to the Indians.
Things started quite well for the Mustangs as it broke through Oneida’s defenses and led 21-17 after one quarter. For the rest of the half, though, the Indians proved tough on both ends, going on a decisive 25-11 spurt.
Not only did Ella Rainbow pour in 26 points for Oneida, but her teammate, Lauren Skibitski, earned 14 points and, by doing so, climbed past the 1,000-point mark for her career. Sydney Lusher also had 14 points.
Sarah Fallon paced the Mustangs with 14 points of her own, but none of her teammates got into double figures as Kade DeMarle and Emma MacLachlan each had eight points, with Katie MacLachlan adding seven points.
Still at home Thursday night to face Hannibal, Marcellus turned things around, defeating the Warriors 59-44 as the Mustangs shook off a bad start and, with a 27-11 second-quarter outburst, took charge.
Katie MacLachlan’s 18 points included a pair of 3-pointers, with Hannah Durand also converting twice beyond the arc on her way to 15 points. Fallon and Emma MacLachlan also got to double figures with 10 points apiece.
Solvay also played last Tuesday night, hosting Mexico and prevailing 47-32 as the Bearcats, who moved back to the .500 mark (6-6), surrendered an early advantage and trailed 24-23 at halftime, only to limit the Tigers to two points in the third quarter while going back in front for good.
Doing a bit of everything , Allie Posnick had 14 points, six assists, five steals and four rebounds. Brielle Bagozzi grabbed 15 rebounds to go with nine points as Haley Muehl also had nine points, plus eight rebounds. Diamond Grant got 10 rebounds and six points.
