A long mid-season hiatus can either refresh a team or make it stale, and the Marcellus girls basketball team certainly didn’t want to fall into the latter category.
When the 7-1 Mustangs took the court for last Monday’s game at Solvay, it had not played since a Dec. 20 win at Homer, only having a scrimmage with Liverpool during its hiatus, which spanned more than two weeks.
But any concerns about Marcellus losing its competitive edge dissipated in a hurry as it jumped all over Solvay and didn’t let up until it had registered a 64-29 victory over the Bearcats.
With full-court pressure causing a string of turnovers, the Mustangs got an early 15-4 edge, but saved its best work for a second-quarter stretch where, in four-plus minutes, it had 22 unanswered points.
Katie MacLachlan put up all of her 15 points in the first half, with Samantha Wynne earning a team-best 16 points. Hannah Durand got nine points, with Sarah Fallon earning seven points and Emma MacLachlan adding six points.
The fun continued Wednesday as the Mustangs struggled early against Homer, but rode a sensational second-half performance from Katie MacLachlan to put away the Trojans 75-48.
Homer did well early and led, 30-26, at halftime, only to have MacLachlan start to catch fire from the field in the third quarter, sparking a 23-6 run that gave Marcellus the lead for good.
Everything seemed to fall for MacLachlan, who by night’s end had hit on 13 field goals, seven of them 3-pointers, adding three throws and finishing with 39 points.
Mostly, the other Mustangs were glad to cede the production, though Durand did get 10 points as Sarah Kellar had seven points and Wynne earned six points.
In Friday’s game at Phoenix, Marcellus rolled again, holding the Firebirds to just five points in the first half on the way to a 55-25 victory. Durand had the hot hand here, earning 20 points as Katie MacLachlan added 10 points.
Solvay recovered from the Marcellus defeat on Thursday, handling Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 58-33. Tazz Pitts dazzled with 23 points and 10 rebounds, Diamond Grant adding 11 rebounds as Haley Muehl had eight points and Ryleigh Bidwell had seven points.
Westhill hoped to reestablish its own credentials against undefeated, state Class A no. 20-ranked Christian Brothers Academy, but instead got run over in a 61-38 loss to the Brothers.
What was a close contest broke open late in the second quarter, CBA using a string of baskets to build a 33-18 edge that kept on growing as the second half went on.
Jenna Larrabee and Mary Gibson led the Warriors with 12 points apiece, but both were far behind CBA senior Brooke Jarvis, who tore up Westhill’s defense and earned 27 points, helped by Leana Heitmann, who had 16 points.
Rebounding on Thursday night, Westhill ripped past Hannibal 55-21. Larrabee led with 15 points as Gibson (11 points) and Erica Gangemi (10 points) also scored in double figures, Catherine Dadey added eight points.
Then Westhill kept it up Friday by smashing Jordan-Elbridge 91-29. Larrabee, with 24 points, nearly matched the Eagles by herself, Gangemi adding 18 points as Dadey’s 13 points included a trio of 3-pointers and Gibson got 10 points. Molly Yard paced J-E with eight points.
Skaneateles fell to Homer 79-41 last Tuesday, unable to overcome a 22-1 start by the Trojans, who saw Jerze Joseph pour in 23 points and Gracie Patriarco add 18 points.
But the Lakers handled Mexico 43-22 on Friday night, limiting the Tigers to nine points in the first half and shutting them out in the third quarter on the way to improving its record to 3-7.
J-E took a 70-26 defeat to Chittenango last Tuesday as Cassidy Kelly led the Bears with 21 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and seven assists.
Bishop Ludden had started the season 5-0, only to drop its next three games, including last Thursday’s 61-47 loss to Rochester Mercy as the Gaelic Knights look ahead to face Marcellus on Friday.
