Between Regents exams and school closings, area girls high school basketball teams had to deal with light schedules and lost practice time, but managed them quite well.
Westhill had, by far, the biggest victory of any local side, taking on Oneida last Saturday and, in a possible post-season preview, the Warriors rode a big third quarter to a 61-47 victory over the Indians.
Entering the game, Oneida was 12-1 and held the no. 9 state Class B ranking. Westhill, at 12-3, was just behind them in the no. 12 spot and had won five in a row.
The first half reflected how close they were, the Indians up early, but the Warriors pushing back. Then, trailing 29-27 at the break, Westhill unloaded.
The third period was a mix of the Warriors stifling Oneida’s attack while, on the other end, the duo of Jenna Larrabee and Catherine Dadey could not get stopped, the damage adding up to a 22-2 run.
Larrabee eventually finished with 24 points, while Dadey, hot from the perimeter, hit six 3-pointers to account for most of her 20 points. Mackenzie Martin added nine points.
No one on the Indians got close to that kind of production. Lauren Skibitski, like Martin a multi-sport star and 1,000-point scorer, had 12 points here as Sydney Lusher added 10 points, seven assists and four blocks.
Before this, Westhill went to Phoenix and piled up points in an 85-33 win over the Firebirds. Over the course of the first three quarters, Westhill established a 75-27 lead.
Larrabee nearly matched Phoenix by herself, the sophomore forward pouring in 29 points. Imani Watts, helped by four 3-pointers, gained 19 points overall. Martin (11 points) and Dadey (10 points) also hit double figures as Erica Gangemi and Mary Gibson had six points apiece.
West Genesee faced its own test at Fayetteville-Manlius, or at least it appeared that way, given some recent strong play, but the Wildcats were more than ready, roaring its way past the Hornets 65-39.
Mackenzie Smith was back in the lineup, having missed WG’s come-from-behind win over Liverpool a week earlier, and her presence on both ends energized the Wildcats.
A high-scoring first quarter still had WG in front, 21-14, and it all but put the game away in the second period, dominating on both ends during a 20-2 burst. Thus, it could absorb 21 points from F-M’s Lexie Roe, most of them in the second half.
Mackenzie Smith matched Roe with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Catie Cunningham hit twice beyond the arc on her way to 13 points as Madison Smith got 10 points and Kaitlyn Walker added seven points.
Marcellus returned to action Thursday night, at Cazenovia, and after a rough start played close to perfection on defense during the second half to turn things around and beat the Lakers 45-32 to improve its record to 10-3.
All through the first two quarters, Marcellus found it difficult to convert anything, and Cazenovia moved out in front, though it wasn’t a big margin as the Mustangs trailed 21-13 at the break.
Then Marcellus solved the Lakers’ defensive riddle during the third quarter, outscoring them 15-6, and prevented any reply by cranking up its own resistance and limiting Cazenovia to five points in the final period.
Hannah Durand led with 14 points, while Sarah Fallon got 10 points. Emma MacLachlan, Katie MacLachlan and Sam Wynne had six points apiece. Marcellus held Cazenovia’s Lindsey Lawson to 13 points, and the rest of the Lakers had just seven total field goals.
Jordan-Elbridge hosted Skaneateles Friday night and were shut down in a 54-14 defeat to the Lakers, while Solvay lost, 45-27, to LaFayette. Allie Posnick had 11 points for the Bearcats as Haley Muehl added seven points and 12 rebounds.
