Some tough results in December, including defeats to Baldwinsville and Liverpool, had left the West Genesee girls basketball team in need of some quality wins.
And the Wildcats got them in the More Than A Game Tournament, starting Dec. 27 at SRC Arena with a 59-46 victory over Section V’s Fairport.
The game was close until the Wildcats outscored the Red Raiders 17-7 in the fourth quarter. Meredith James earned 12 of her career-high 20 points at the free-throw line as Catie Cunningham had 15 points, with Molly Coyne getting seven points and Ellen Kearney six points.
Far more important, in the long-term, was WG’s 53-40 victory over Rome Free Academy in the Dec. 28 final, since it matched up two area Class AA sides.
A low-scoring first half saw the Wildcats gradually overcome the Black Knights’ early 14-8 lead. Then WG decided matters by dominating on both ends in the third quarter, stunning RFA with a 20-4 push.
Cunningham led this time, pouring in 20 points as Molly Benetti stepped up with 13 points. Julia Logana added eight points as Tailyn Frost paced RFA with 14 points.
Skaneateles played in the Chittenango Holiday Tournament and, after falling 66-51 to the host Bears in the opening round, recovered to beat Auburn 45-35 in the consolation game.
Maddy Ramsgard (13 points), Kate Aberi (10 points), Tatumn Pas’cal (nine points), Lexi Cotttrill (eight points) and Maeve Canty (seven points) all scored well against Chittenango, but no one broke out the way Sarah Lanphear did for the Bears as she earned a game-high 18 points.
Defense was the story against Auburn, with the Lakers limiting the Maroons to four points in the fourth quarter to gradually draw clear. Canty, with 18 points, and Ramsgard, with 12 points, accounted for most of the Skaneateles attack as Cottrill added eight points.
Bishop Ludden was 5-1 and no. 13 in the state Class A rankings when it took on Class AA no. 15-ranked St. Mary’s, from the Buffalo area, last Saturday afternoon.
The Gaelic Knights lost, 61-56, to the Lancers, who broke out of a 22-22 halftime tie by outscoring Ludden 23-16 in the third quarter. In defeat, Amarah Streiff had 21 points, with Lauren Petrie adding 17 points.
That same day, Jordan-Elbridge was back on the court, seeking its first win of the season against Canastota, but took a 51-44 defeat to the Raiders.
The Eagles led 34-32 going to the fourth quarter, only to have Canastota go in front, carried by Jessica Evans, who poured in 30 points, more than half her team’s output
No one on J-E got close to Evans’ totals, though Kaley Jackson did have 13 points, with Mollie Yard adding 12 points as Gabby Smart finished with eight points.
