Though they entered the Section III Class B playoffs in vastly different circumstances, the results, for girls basketball teams from Cazenovia and Chittenango, were the same – and quite satisfying.
Given a no. 12 seed, the Lakers traveled to no. 5 seed Marcellus Friday night and upended the Mustangs 59-52, just as the no. 6 seed Bears, on its home floor, continued its recent surge by ousting no. 11 seed Hannibal 62-38.
Of the two results, Cazenovia’s was more of a surprise, and not just due to where it was seeded.
The Lakers had lost three in a row just the week before, and though it recovered earlier this week to handle Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 58-39 and Jordan-Elbridge 65-31, neither of them were playoff teams.
Now Cazenovia was facing a Marcellus side against which it lost 45-32 at Buckley Gym late in January, where again it had not found much production beyond Lindsey Lawson’s 13 points and 20 rebounds.
But all of that changed on the Mustangs’ home floor as the Lakers hung close throughout the first half and then, late in the third quarter, took charge, gaining a 40-36 lead.
More importantly, Cazenovia handled late-game pressure well, adding to its margin until Laura Connor’s 3-pointer with 1:30 left made it 54-44, a margin Marcellus could not overcome.
Lawson, again the target of the Marcellus defense, was fouled often, but took advantage as she mad 13 free throws to account for half of her 26 points.
And Lawson had plenty of help, too, especially from Carleigh Szalach, who poured in 16 points as Hannah Matteson had nine points and Julia Bauder got six points. For Marcellus, Katie MacLachlan had 15 points and Hannah Durand added 13 points.
Cazenovia now will try and pull off another road upset when it faces no. 4 seed Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in the Tuesday night’s sectional quarterfinal. The Red Devils edged Central Valley Academy 55-51 in the opening round. Whoever wins would reach the semifinals against Westhill or Skaneateles.
On the other half of the sectional bracket, Chittenango charged into the playoffs with an eight-game win streak, and would open its post-season against a Hannibal side it beat in a a close 49-45 battle early in December.
Things were close until the second quarter, when, led by Emily Moon and Mekenzie Dahlin, the Bears outscored the Warriors 21-8, establishing a comfortable 33-18 halftime margin that only grew during the second half.
Mostly, Chittenango made Hannibal pay dearly for the attention put on the Bears’ all-time leading scorer, Ally Shoemaker, who was content to pass to all of her teammates, accumulating 17 assists to go with five rebounds, five steals and eight points.
Moon put up a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Dahlin set a season mark with 17 points, adding four steals. Sarah Lanphear had five points and five rebounds.
In Wednesday night’s quarterfinal, it’s the Bears against no. 3 seed South Jefferson, who toppled Bishop Grimes 63-42 to reach this point, the winner advancing to face Oneida or Syracuse Academy of Science in the semifinals.
Long before this, Cazenovia had its pair of wins over APW and J-E. Against the Rebels, Lawson one more time put up big numbers in front of the home crowd, finishing the night with 30 points from 11 field goals and eight successful free throws. Matteson and Bauder each earned nine points, with Szalach adding eight points.
Then, in the win over J-E, Lawson, nearing the 1,000-point mark for her career, finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Szalach excelled with 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Bauder got nine points and Katie Ammann earned six points.
Chittenango moved to 13-6 against the same Marcellus team that Cazenovia would conquer later in the week, controlling matter most of the way as it beat the Mustangs 56-35.
Much of the damage was rendered in the first half, the Bears’ defense limiting Marcellus to a handful of baskets as it steadily built a 31-16 advantage.
Ultimately, four Chittenango players scored in double figures, led by Shoemaker, who had 17 points, seven assists, seven steals and five rebounds. Moon got 11 points and 10 rebounds as Dahlin and Cassidy Kelly and Mekenzie Dahlin had 12 points apiece.
