A week passed between the Cicero-North Syracuse girls basketball team’s season-altering 50-45 win over previously undefeated Baldwinsville and the next time it saw game action.
During that time, the Northstars returned to the state Class AA rankings at no. 17, two spots ahead of the Bees at no. 19, the two sides knowing that they would meet again in the Feb. 14 regular-season finale.
Things resumed for C-NS last Friday when it hosted Nottingham, a team sporting a 7-5 record, though one of those defeats came 67-40 at the hands of the Northstars on Dec. 10.
This rematch didn’t get as out of hand, and in fact the Bulldogs played C-NS on relatively even terms during the second half, but that could not make up for a rough start as the Northstars prevailed 59-41.
All through the first half, C-NS’s defense made things miserable for Nottingham, only surrendering a handful of field goals while steady production on the other end led to a 29-13 advantage.
Even as the margin stabilized, the Bulldogs, like so many others, had no answer for Jessica Cook, the junior forward pouring in 30 points.
Some help came from the likes of Julia Rowe and Alita Carey-Santangelo, who each finished with nine points. Nottingham got most of its offense from Amaya Williams, who had 21 points, but the rest of the Bulldogs were held to just seven field goals.
As this went on, Liverpool was at West Genesee, attempting to pull off a regular-season sweep of the reigning sectional Class AA champion Wildcats, but not quite able to pull it off as it lost 58-53.
What made it more frustrating was that the Warriors, who won that initial meeting 49-44 over WG on Dec. 10, overcame an early 14-5 deficit with strong play in the game’s middle stages.
By the time they reached the fourth quarter, Liverpool was in front 40-35, with Naveah Wingate on her way to 21 points and 15 rebounds as Karlyssa Shifflett would get 15 points.
Still, WG dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Warriors 23-13 and displaying a bit more depth as nine different players had points, compared to Liverpool’s five. Catie Cunningham had 14 points, followed closely by Molly Benetti (11 points) and Meredith James (nine points).
Liverpool and C-NS meet each other this Thursday night at 6:30, two days after the Warriors face Fayetteville-Manlius and the Northstars deal with Henninger.
