All across the area, high school girls basketball teams were grateful for the opportunity to have a season after long-held fears that the COVID-19 pandemic would cancel all high-risk winter sports.
But with infection rates decreasing, plus state and county health department approvals, practices started. Feb. 1 and games got underway a first week.
No one would start better than Marcellus, who lost just two seniors from a side that made it all the way to the Section III Class B semifinals a season ago before a narrow defeat to eventual champion South Jefferson.
In last Friday’s game against Homer, the Mustangs tore out of the gate with 23 first-quarter points, withstood a second-period slump and dominated the latter stages to subdue the Trojans 68-36.
During its 39-16 run through the second half, Marcellus eventually saw four players score in double figures, led by Katie MacLachlan, who put in 20 points.
Hannah Durand and Emma MacLachlan each chimed in with 13 points, while Sam Wynne finished with 10 points.
Before this neighbors Bishop Ludden and Westhill, met last Wednesday, and what is usually a close, competitive rivalry went decidedly in the Gaelic Knights’ favor last Wednesday night.
Ludden’s 69-43 victory was set up first by sophomore forward Amarah Streiff netting nine points in the first quarter, three more than the entire Warriors’ roster.
The margin kept building throughout the night as Streiff showed her range, everything from inside moves to 3-point jumpers, on her way to 28 points overall.
Sarah Boyea (11 points) and Lauren Petrie (10 points) also hit double figures, while Westhill didn’t get much beyond the 13 points from Catherine Dadey and 10 points from Jada Doss.
Ludden would get another confidence-building victory on Saturday when it rallied in the second half to topple Bishop Grimes 65-43, and Streiff would reach a milestone.
With 13 points in the third quarter, not only did Streiff help the Gaelic Knights erase the Cobras’ 27-22 halftime lead, she reached 1,000 career points, a rare feat for any 10th-grade basketball player.
All told, Streiff had 28 points, with ample support from Ke’iara Odume, who poured in 17 points, and Kaitlyn Kibling, whose 13 points included a trio of 3-pointers. Jenna Sloan led Grimes with 14 points.
More teams began a night later, including Solvay hosting 2020 Section III Class C finalist Weedsport and Westhill turning around to face Skaneateles.
Solvay lost, 54-32, held to just two points in the second quarter. Weedsport built a 54-18 edge, led by Suzie Nemec’s 17 points, while the Bearcats got 10 points from Mag Kemp, nine points from Ryleigh Bidwell and eight points from Olivia Petralito.
Meanwhile, Westhill was getting into the win column in a tough 41-36 decision over Skaneateles, largely by improving on defense.
A 35-25 advantage was built over three periods, which proved enough as Dadey put in 14 points and Kate Heinrich had 10 points. On the Lakers’ side, only Tatumn Pas’cal, with 12 points, hit double figures as Maddy Ramsgard had six points.
West Genesee waited until Friday, when it had to face Cicero-North Syracuse, the team who ended the Wildcats’ three-year reign as Section III Class AA champions a season ago.
It started well, with the Wildcats gaining a 12-8 lead through one quarter, but the Northstars took over the rest of the way, relying on its depth and versatility to prevail 72-42.
Catie Cunningham, with 12 points, was the lone WG player to score in double figures and added nine rebounds. Bridget Durham added six points.
C-NS’s University of Toledo-bound senior forward, Jessica Cook, led her side with 24 points, and was balanced out by the Northstars hitting seven 3-pointers as Kathleen Taru and Alita Carey-Santangelo got 10 points apiece.
