Perhaps lacking the dominant aura of its predecessors, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team knows that effort, as well as talent, holds the key to making another run at Section III and state Class A honors.
Plenty of effort was needed last Monday night as Class B power South Jefferson arrived and pushed the game to overtime before the Red Rams beat the Spartans 55-51.
Coming off a 59-46 loss to New Hampshire power Bishop Guertin two nights earlier, J-D found itself trailing South Jefferson for most of the first half, yet keeping things close as it only was down 25-24 at the break.
A strong third quarter pushed the Rams in front, 38-34, but now it was the Spartans staying in there, largely thanks to the duo of Jackie Piddock, who had 22 points, five steals and seven rebounds, and Alyssa Stevenson, who got 18 points and 11 rebounds.
With J-D up 49-47 and time winding down in regulation, it was Piddock who found her way out of a Rams double team and, with a floater at the horn, tied it 49-49 to force OT.
During that extra period, though, South Jefferson only managed two points, the Rams playing superb defense and then seeing Gabby Stickle convert a crucial three-point play. All of the other J-D points in the OT came through free throws.
Stickle finished with 20 points, mostly from four 3-pointers, while Andrea Sumida contributed 11 points. Tracey Edson gained nine points and Sydney Baker added eight points.
Two nights later, J-D would go to Auburn. The Maroons had an 8-0 league mark (12-3) overall and would play the Rams twice in a seven-day span to determine first place in the SCAC Empire division.
And it proved as big a statement as J-D had made all season as it routed Auburn 77-51. Here, it outscored the Maroons 44-21 over the course of the second and third quarters, its attack finally catching up to the defense that remained in top form.
Each of the 11 J-D players that saw action got on the scoreboard, with Stickle and Momo LaClair at the forefront as they gained 16 points apiece. Paige Keeler had 11 points, while Edson and Riley LaTray had six points apiece.
At Central Square Friday night, the Rams, still no. 2 in the state Class A rankings behind Pittsford Mendon, pounded the Redhawks 67-25, only allowing a single free throw in the first quarter and leading 30-7 by halftime.
And it kept going, with J-D again having every single player in the rotation convert a field goal and Keeler out in front with 18 points, while Stickle and Baker had 12 points apiece. Sumida added eight points.
J-D tested itself again Sunday against Class AA Rochester power Bishop Kearney and lost, 70-54, though Stickle still had 15 points as Baker hit four 3-pointers to account for all of her 12 points. LaClair, Keeler and Sumida had nine points apiece.
Fayetteville-Manlius was enjoying its own late-season surge, having knocked off Liverpool on Feb. 1 and then, as a follow-up, going to Baldwinsville last Tuesday night and taking out the Bees 58-46.
Having lost 38-35 to B’ville on Jan. 9, the Hornets began to take charge of the rematch in the second quarter, where it got hot from the field and outscored the Bees 22-14 to lead 34-24 at the break.
Though B’ville hung in there, F-M limited them to seven points in the fourth quarter to prevent any comeback as Lexie Roe had another big night, earning 25 points, with Alexis Schneider adding 10 points. Lily Fish and Ava Angello had eight points apiece.
That win clinched a winning record for the regular season, but at 11-8 the Hornets would get a true examination of where it stood when it visited Cicero-North Syracuse on Friday night, attempting to improve on the 51-22 defeat it took to the Northstars a month ago.
Yet very little changed in this rematch, F-M falling 64-36 as Roe got held to 11 points, just ahead of Elena Paolini, who had nine points, and Lexi Kellish, who got seven points.
Four C-NS players hit double figures, led by Jessica Cook, who got 23 points as fellow forward Julia Rowe had 16 points. Morgan Siechen (11 points) and Brandi Feeney (10 points) were close behind.
East Syracuse Minoa had its own game with Auburn on Friday, falling 55-26 to the Maroons as Julianna Barton had 12 points, with Angelina Thomason getting eight points. Grace Baranick led Auburn with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
