Through its early games in 2020, the Cazenovia girls basketball team was leaning on its defense to remain a force, even if the baskets weren’t falling.

Such was the case when the Lakers visited Madison last Monday night and had to work hard to get on the scoreboard, yet still beat the Blue Devils by a comfortable 36-24 margin.

These teams had met in the Dec. 4 season opener, Cazenovia prevailing 48-21 on the night where Lindsey Lawson surpassed 1,000 career points.

Here, the Lakers only managed 17 first-half points, but worked through that slump and kept Madison quiet, holding them to just eight total points in the second and third quarters.

Lawson this time finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds, helped by Molly Brown, who had nine points and eight rebounds. Julia Bauder and Carleigh Szalach had five points apiece.

Just 24 hours later, the Lakers were back in Buckley Gym, hosting Mexico, and while its defense remained stellar, the attack picked up and Cazenovia roared to a 56-27 victory over the Tigers.

Having blazed its way to a 37-16 halftime advantage, the Lakers took it further by blanking Mexico in the third quarter, a 15-0 push.

Remaining productive, Lawson worked her way to 24 points, nearly matching the Tigers by herself. Szalach finished with 14 points and Bauder gained 12 points.

As Cazenovia improved to 7-2 overall, Chittenango, after taking back-to-back defeats to Oneida and CBA, still found itself at no. 25 in the latest state Class B rankings.

And the Bears broke that skid at Jordan-Elbridge last Tuesday, jumping out 26-6 on the Eagles in the first quarter and moving on to claim a 70-26 victory.

Cassidy Kelly led Chittenango’s charge, earning 21 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and seven assists. Ally Shoemaker entered the night with 977 career points, and added 12 to that total here, plus five rebounds and four assists as Emily Moon earned 18 points.

It was expected that Shoemaker would get the 11 points she would need for 1,000 Friday against Bishop Grimes – and she did, the occasion marked by a long standing ovation along with a commemorative basketball and poster.

Yet Chittenango could not turn that success into a victory, leading most of the way until the Cobras outscored them 25-11 in the fourth quarter to prevail 47-39.

Shoemaker finished with 12 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Moon got 10 points, Kelly adding nine points and 12 rebounds. Lora Marial (17 points) and Rhonee Shea Pal (13 points) led the Grimes comeback.

Two more tough games await the Bears this week against Marcellus and Westhill. After going to Phoenix on Tuesday, Cazenovia takes part in Utica-Notre Dame’s Juggler Classic this weekend