Amid a busy final full week of the regular season, the Cazenovia girls basketball team had a chance to spoil perfection and, along the way, see senior forward Lindsey Lawson make some history.
The Lakers faced 19-0, state Class D no. 3-ranked Brookfield last Thursday in an attempt to deny the Beavers the only undefeated regular season of any Section III squad.
Yet it was Brookfield demonstrating why that perfect mark was justified, taming Cazenovia 63-34 as it bolted out to a 33-12 halftime lead and never got caught.
Jaelyn Vleer-Elliott produced a triple-double for the Beavers, amassing 28 points, 16 rebounds and 10 steals, to go with six assists as Madilyne Kupris added 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Back on Monday, the Cazenovia seniors were honored prior to its game against Hannibal, and then the Lakers proceeded to defeat the Warriors 51-34.
Lawson, Julia Bauder, Molly Brown, Josie Avery, Molly Schwartz and Megan Hughes received the pre-game accolades, and unlike some Senior Night games, Cazenovia was quite sharp, building a 44-17 lead through three quarters.
Though she finished with 24 points, Lawson did not have to do the work alone. Carleigh Szalach had nine points, with Bauder getting six points as Schwartz and Hadley Schug had five points apiece.
Against Altmar-Parish-Williamstown a day later, the Lakers won again, this time by a bigger 57-31 margin, where Lawson achieved another milestone.
By putting up 21 points, Lawson passed Helen Baroody as Cazenovia’s all-time leading scorer. Baroody put up 1,392 points during her Lakers tenure, with Lawson standing at 1,400 at the end of that game.
Just as important for Cazenovia was seeing Szalach break out and match Lawson’s total of 21 points, with Bauder contributing seven points.
Chittenango returned to action after a nine-day break and welcomed back Mekenzie Dahlin to the lineup after she had missed most of the season with an injury.
And it was Dahlin leading the Bears to a tough 66-59 overtime victory over Skaneateles last Monday night, pouring in 21 points, including three 3-pointers and six free throws.
After holding a slim lead for most of regulation, Chittenango was caught, 49-49, but then outscored the Lakers 17-9 in the four-minute OT period, overcoming a career-high 25 points from Emma Keady and 16 points from Tatumn Pas’cal.
Aside from Dahlin, Ally Shoemaker finished with 16 points, nine assists and five steals, while Emily Moon got 11 points and eight rebonds. Cassidy Kelly gained 14 rebounds to go with her nine points.
Going for its fifth win in a row against Fayetteville-Manlius on Thursday, the Bears nearly got it with a late comeback, but fell just short in a 53-51 defeat to the Hornets.
F-M outscored Chittenango 29-19 in the second and third quarters, led by Lexie Roe, who poured in 24 points overall. Down 37-28, the Bears closed strong, but fell a basket short.
Kelly was sensational, earning 22 points and 14 rebounds. Moon had 10 points and eight rebounds as she and Kelly nearly made the Hornets pay for all the attention on Shoemaker, who still had nine assists, five steals and four rebounds. Sarah Lanphear earned eight points.
On Saturday, Chittenango lost, 54-37, to Homer, to finish its regular season at 12-8. Shoemaker was held to three points as Kelly got 10 points and Lanphear had nine points. Gracie Patriarco paced the Trojans with 21 points.
