ONONDAGA COUNTY –
Having zoomed past 1,000 career points with a 45-point effort in a March 5 win over Nottingham, West Genesee senior Catie Cunningham hoped for a rousing conclusion to her high school career.
And she got it in the most exciting way possible.
It took Cunningham’s basket in the final seconds to propel the Wildcats past Fayetteville-Manlius 40-38 in last Saturday’s season finale, leaving WG with an overall final record of 7-5.
Having beaten the Hornets 65-59 in late February, the Wildcats found the rematch even tougher, with both defenses making plenty of stops throughout the afternoon and the margin remaining small.
By the time they hit the closing stretch, it was 38-38, and WG had the ball. A shot to win it was off target, but Cunningham was in position to put back the rebound before the clock hit zero.
That basket gave Cunningham 19 points in her high-school finale, with Molly Coyne and Erin DiPaola each getting six points to help offset the 24 points from F-M star Lexie Roe.
It was a dramatic week in general as the Wildcats nearly got another big win last Monday against visiting Baldwinsville, only to get stung at the buzzer in a 52-50 loss to the Bees.
What made it more difficult was the way WG battled back after B’ville raced out to a 22-13 first-quarter lead. Gradually, the Wildcats’ defense began to improve as it chipped away the deficit.
With Cunningham gaining 25 points and help from Mollie James (12 points) and Molly Benetti (eight points), WG pulled even, 50-50, and just needed one more stop to force overtime.
But even though it defended well in the closing sequence, B’ville’s Sydney Huhtala still hit a contested corner jump shot as time ran out. For the game, Huhtala had 16 points, with Kyrah Wilbur getting 12 points and Hannah Mimas 10 points.
Things were a lot tougher against Cicero-North Syracuse 24 hours later, the Wildcats unable to keep up with the undefeated Northstars in a 74-38 defeat.
Steadily, C-NS jumped out 30-14 by halftime and smothered Cunningham, holding her to 11 points as Bridget Dunham got seven points.
On the other end, Jessica Cook, the Northstars’ senior forward, gained 26 points, while Alita Carey-Santangelo earned 15 points and Alexa Kulakowski gained 13 points.
WG did prevail 52-38 over Auburn on Thursday, cooling down the 6-2 Maroons by having Cunningham return to form to the tune of 26 points, with Coyne adding 10 points.
Jordan-Elbridge got off to a great start in last Tuesday’s game against Phoenix, leading 22-9 through one period, but could not hold on to it in a 56-51 loss.
The Firebirds made up most of the ground in the second quarter, then held the Eagles to six points in the final period to go in front. Before that, Ava Hildebrant had put in 16 points, with Kyler Langhorn adding 12 points and Abbie Ahern finishing with 11 points.
Then J-E ran into Onondaga last Wednesday and lost, 82-38, to the Tigers, who got 29 points from Macey DeOrdio and 27 points from Avianna Baker. Ahern and Langhorn led the Eagles with 11 points apiece.
Playing again on Friday, J-E defeated the combined Corcoran/ITC/Fowler team known as Syracuse West 52-32, breaking open a close game with an 18-8 third-quarter push.
Four Eagles reached double figures, with Hildebrant getting 13 points. Ahern finished with 11 points as Langhorn and Julie Smith had 10 points apiece.
When Solvay faced Onondagda last Monday, the Bearcats lost 62-30 to the Tigers. Ryleigh Bidwell had 10 points and nine rebounds, with Mag Kemp getting 13 rebounds to go with her seven points as Olivia Petralito had eight points.
On Wednesday, Solvay defeated Cato-Meridian 38-26. Kemp grabbed 21 rebounds and Bidwell earned 10 rebounds, aiding Kaya Watts, who put up 13 points as Kemp had eight points. Myah Platler had seven points and six rebounds.
