On the way to a busy Sunday at Onondaga Community College where each of them would take part in various Section III semifinals, girls basketball teams from West Genesee, Westhill and Bishop Ludden all won big in their respective quarterfinal games on Tuesday night.
In Class AA, the two-time defending champions from West Genesee handled Corcoran 62-34, while in Class B Westhill gained a big amount of payback in a 69-30 romp of Skaneateles and, in Class A, Bishop Ludden rolled past Cortland 71-39.
Of the three games, the most satisfaction was gained by Westhill, simply because of what happened the first time it faced Skaneateles. Way back on Nov. 28 the Lakers stunned the Warriors53-47, ending a long losing streak against them.
Granted, it was the season opener, Mackenzie Martin had only just returned from leading the girls volleyball Warriors to the state Class B title, but it still happened.
Nearly three months later, Skaneateles was in good form, having won six in a row. But Westhill remembered that first encounter with the Lakers and wasn’t about to let that happen again.
The Warriors led 10-1 before the Lakers got its first field goal, which took more than five minutes. And though Skaneateles had cut its deficit to 15-10 early in the second quarter, that would be as close as it would get.
Westhill rattled off a 17-0 run that covered most of the rest of the half, and then added an 11-0 run, the margin growing to 55-18 by the end of the third quarter.
Martin, in her last home game, notched 14 points and 14 rebounds, with Jenna Larrabee getting 18 points and 10 rebounds. Imani Watts hit five 3-pointers on her way to 16 points and Catherine Dadey added 11 points.
Of course, Westhill is trying to claim the sectional Class B title Bishop Ludden earned the previous two years. Now in Class A as the top seed, the Gaelic Knights entered the post-season sporting a 14-game win streak.
Out to stop all this, Cortland absorbed a fast Gaelic Knights start in their sectional quarterfinal, gradually eating away at Ludden’s 24-10 lead by holding them to five points in the second quarter.
But with a 24-7 third-quarter blitz, Ludden regained control for good as Aurora Deshaies burned the Purple Tigers for 27 points, while Amarah Streiff had 13 points. Karleigh Leo gained 11 points and Katie Costello finished with 10 points.
Up in Class AA, West Genesee didn’t need much motivation as it began its sectional playoff run, but perhaps getting the no. 2 seed behind top seed Cicero-North Syracuse provided it as it faced a Corcoran side it had already beaten twice during the regular season.
Dominant in all phases of the game, the Wildcats were up 22-4 before the first quarter was done and just kept on going until it led 54-18 at the end of the third period and then could rest its starters.
Mackenzie Smith led with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Kaitlyn Walker had 11 points, with Abby Bednarski getting nine points as Madison Smith (eight points), Tara Osterdale (seven points) and Aleysha Castanon (six points) closely followed.
In Sunday’s sectional AA semifinal at 2:45 at SRC Arena, WG will face no. 3 seed Liverpool, another team it beat twice this winter, while in Class B Westhill faces no. 4 seed Vernon-Verona-Sherrill at 4:15 at nearby Allyn Hall and, right after, Ludden plays its Class A semifinal against Auburn or Indian River.
