Though it held an 8-2 record through 10 games, the Cazenovia girls basketball team had, aside from a Dec. 19 win at Westhill, rarely put together the kind of signature performance that draws attention outside normal circles.
All of that changed last Saturday when, in the opening round of the Juggler Classic in Utica, the Lakers knocked off Section II’s Fonda-Fultonville by a score of 58-47.
Going into the game, Fonda-Fultonville was undefeated and ranked no. 8 in the state in Class B, the kind of opponent that may have completely overwhelmed Cazenovia in the past.
Here, though, the Lakers would take an early lead on the Braves and then endure a second-quarter drought where it would only score four points, yet not lose sight.
By the final period, Cazenovia had caught up and proceeded to outscore Fonda-Fultonville 24-12 in those last eight minutes, largely because it had the best player on the floor.
Lindsey Lawson amassed 34 points, adding 11 rebounds and three steals. Helping out, Karleigh Szalach had nine points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Molly Brown got eight points, seven rebounds and six assists. Julia Bauder gained six points.
Moving to Sunday’s final against host Utica-Notre Dame, Cazenovia looked to repeat that magic, but could not quite do so, falling 52-48 to the Jugglers.
Here, the Lakers again went through an early slump, held to three points in the first quarter. Still, it fought back to lead 35-34 through three periods before UND went back in front for good in the late going.
Lawson still had an outstanding effort, piling up 31 points and 24 rebounds, but other than Szalach, who had 10 points, the rest of the Lakers had just two total field goals. Ajla Sedjic led the Jugglers with 23 points.
