It took getting to 13-1 for the Marcellus girls basketball team to finally crack the state Class B rankings, entering last week at the no. 18 spot, though still behind three other Section III sides -South Jefferson, Bishop Grimes and Oneida.
With a chance to improve upon that mark, the Mustangs traveled to Hannibal last Thursday and again was quite impressive, cruising to a 57-30 win over the Warriors.
An airtight defense produced a 29-15 halftime edge. Then Marcellus closed 15-5, led by Katie MacLachlan, who put in 15 points.
Sarah Fallon earned 11 points, while Hannah Durand, Hannah Rogalia and Sam Wynne each finished with eight points.
Not to be forgotten in the Class B picture, Westhill gained a major shot of confidence last Tuesday night when it pulled away late to defeat its neighbors from Bishop Ludden 56-45 for its fifth win in a row.
Though it never trailed after the game’s opening minutes, the Warriors saw the Gaelic Knights keep up with them throughout the first three periods.
Led by Amarah Streiff (16 points) and Lauren Petrie (15 points), Ludden matched baskets with Westhill and only trailed by three, 40-37, going into the fourth quarter.
But then the Warriors held the Gaelic Knights without a field goal for nearly seven minutes as it put together a decisive 13-2 run, with Catherine Dadey and Jenna Larrabee at the forefront.
Dadey hit on three 3-pointers early and a series of baskets late to finish with 22 points, adding seven assists. Larrabee nearly had a triple-double, augmenting her 21 points with 13 rebounds and eight blocks as Erica Gangemi got nine points.
Perhaps that disappointment for Ludden carried over because it lost again to Central Square 48-36 a day later, but recovered on Friday for a big 54-47 win over Bishop Grimes.
Much of that was due to Streiff, the freshman forward earning 31 points on everything from rebound baskets to a pair of 3-pointers.
Ludden took the lead for good when it went on an 8-0 run late in the second quarter to break a 20-20 tie. With Streiff netting nine points in the third quarter, the Gaelic Knights built a 39-26 advantage.
That cushion was needed, since Grimes would increase its pressure and whittle that deficit to single digits, but get no closer than five in the final seconds of the game.
Then it turned around again for Ludden on Sunday as it lost, 52-47, to Christian Brothers Academy in the Pathfinder Bank Zebra Classic at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall.
The Brothers led by as much as eight in the first half and was up 23-18 at the break. Helped by key 3-pointers from Leanna Heitmann, CBA extended its margin to 38-26 late in the third quarter, and would need that cushion.
Cold from the field most of the way, Ludden finally started to hit some 3-pointers in the final period, and got the margin down to 49-44 with a 3-pointer in the final minute to pull within two that clanged off the rim.
Ultimately, CBA senior Brooke Jarvis put the game away with a series of late free throws. Of her 19 points, 12 of them came in the fourth quarter as Streiff had 16 points, with Petrie getting 11 points and Keiara Odune nine points.
As for Jordan-Elbridge, it still was in search of its first win of the season as it took on Camden Jan. 18 and lost 55-33 to the Blue Devils. Ashlee Eaton got nine points, while Mollie Yard had seven points and Kyler Langhorn earned six points.
J-E fell to Pulaski 45-33 last Tuesday as Yard this time led the way with 11 points. Then a 47-37 defeat to Canastota followed, Yard earning nine points as Eaton and Langhorn had eight points apiece, and it lost 56-47 to Camden Saturday.
Solvay ran into Chittenango last Tuesday night and lost 64-38 to the Bears, who got 22 points from Sarah Lanphear. Ryleigh Bidwell had 15 points and five rebounds to pace the Bearcats as Tazz Pitts got nine points.
Skaneateles was close for a quarter against Cazenovia last Thursday but was held to just eight points in the last three quarters of a 37-19 defeat in this Laker clash at Buckley Gym.
Maeve Canty had seven points overall as Cazenovia’s Harvard-bound senior forward, Lindsey Lawson, had 20 points. Skaneateles fell to 4-9 overall.
