CENTRAL NEW YORK – During the first week of March, the Cazenovia and Chittenango girls basketball teams would face off twice, and unlike on the boys side, both the Lakers and Bears would earn victories by the time it was done.
They first met last Monday night, and Chittenango, smarting from a 60-31 defeat to Oneida the night before, roared back by getting past Cazenovia 42-35.
They would play on even terms most of the night, with the Lakers eventually getting its offense on track, Carleigh Szalach getting 15 points as Katie Rajkowski had nine points.
Yet the Bears held Cazenovia to two points in the first quarter, and though the gap closed in the middle stages, Chittenango outscored the Lakers 15-10 in the final period to hang on.
Emily Moon, with 13 points, and Hailee Foran, with eight points, each connected on five free throws. Sarah Lanphear also finished with eight points.
Four nights later, the two sides were at it again, this time at Buckley Gym, and perhaps the home-court advantage played a decisive factor because Cazenovia got even by toppling Chittenango 38-33.
Here it was the Bears that found it difficult to produce anything early, held to a handful of baskets as the Lakers steadily made its way to a 20-11 halftime lead.
From there, Cazenovia thwarted Chittenango’s comeback attempts behind 19 points from Szalach, with Hailey Schug getting nine points and Anna Edwards adding six points. Moon and Lanphear led the Bears with 11 points apiece.
In between those games with Cazenovia, Chittenango had more difficulty last Wednesday when it ran into undefeated Marcellus and fell 64-31 to the Mustangs, who got 30 points from Katie MacLachlan and 18 points from Hannah Durand. Again, Lamphear and Moon matched each other, this time with 10 points.
Cazenovia went from its loss to Chittenango to taking a 45-33 defeat to Cortland a night later. Held to nine points in the first half by the Purple Tigers, the Lakers could not make up that ground despite Szalach’s game-high 18 points.
Both teams were in action Saturday as Cazenovia took its own shot at Marcellus and was overwhelmed in a 76-27 defeat to the Mustangs.
Szalach still managed 12 points, but Marcellus roared to a 40-11 halftime advantage and kept going behind MacLachlan, who led with 21 points, and Durand, who had 18 points.
Chittenango attemped on Saturday to keep Christian Brothers Academy winless and managed to do so, the Bears putting together a 44-34 victory over the Brothers.
A low-scoring first half on both sides did not hurt Chittenango, who picked up its production late and pulled away mainly due to Moon, who had 19 points, and Mia McReynolds, who gained 13 points, mostly from three 3-pointers.
