ONONDAGA COUNTY – Lexie Roe is now at Niagara University, but perhaps the Fayetteville-Manlius girls basketball team is ready to flourish by taking a different approach.
Roe was the primary figure for the Hornets in recent years, but after going 3-7 last winter, F-M knew that any chance for improvement hinged on having a far more balanced attack.
In that sense, the Hornets’ opener against neighbor Jamesville-DeWitt last Wednesday night could not have gone better. Strong defense and a multi-faceted offense led to a 49-34 victory over the Red Rams.
J-D was entering its second season under head coach Kurt Sweeney, but found itself struggling all night against a stingy Hornets defense. Only Anniyah Neal, with 11 points, reached double figures for the Rams.
Meanwhile, the Hornets embraced its new identity, with three players scoring in double figures. Ava Angello led with 15 points, while Lauren Clark got 11 points and Evie Kawa gained 10 points.
As a follow-up on Thursday night, F-M fought past Oswego 33-23, its defense saving the game after it fell behind in the first half. All the Buccaneers could manage was four points in the third quarter.
Then the Hornets shut out Oswego in the final period as Ashley Schneider, helped by a pair of 3-pointers, got 10 points overall, with Kawa adding six points. Clark and Lauren Hoffman had five points apiece.
At least F-M did win games a season ago, something Christian Brothers Academy did not do much off in going 2-10 last winter – but the Brothers took a giant step forward last Tuesday when it defeated Central Square 41-33.
Having gone 10-4 in the abbreviated winter 2021 seasons, CBA found itself trailing 19-16 at halftime, but its defense proceeded to smother and wear the Redhawks down over the course of the last two periods.
Chianna Williams, in particular, had a big night for the Brothers, finishing with 15 points. She got help from Amelia Bonacci and Sydney Vaughn, who both earned nine points.
Then CBA met up with F-M on Saturday, and the Brothers prevailed 39-32 mostly by seeing its defense holding the Hornets to just seven points in the entire first half.
Hanging on late, CBA had Williams again produce 15 points, Vaughn improving to 10 points and Bonacci adding seven points. On F-M’s side, Kawa had 12 points, but no other Hornets player had more than Schneider’s five points.
As that went on, J-D got a 35-27 victory over Oneida by limiting the Indians to nine first-half points and having just four different players score. Each of the eight Rams players that saw action got at least one point, led by Ava Sandroni’s 11 points and Maddy McKenney’s eight points.
Contrasting CBA’s struggles a season ago, Bishop Grimes put together an 8-4 season, and returned most of its lineup for this winter.
And the Cobras started strong last Thursday night, routing Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 59-27 as it outscored the Rebels 20-4 in the first quarter and breezed from there.
Rosalie Vincent, with 15 points, paced Grimes, with Natalie Musolino and Althea Simmons each getting nine points and Jenna Sloan adding eight points.
East Syracuse Minoa had its opener on Saturday, against Auburn, dropping a 53-31 decision to the Maroons despite 16 points from Aniyah Jones. Leah Middleton paced Auburn with 20 points.
