CENTRAL NEW YORK – Given the way they started, the Fayetteville-Manlius and Christian Brothers Academy girls basketball teams ideally wanted to keep up that good work as the holidays neared.
F-M’s big test came on Dec. 18 at undefeated Baldwinsville, and for three quarters it played superb defense, only to see that effort undermined late in a 37-28 loss to the Bees.
After a slow start, the Hornets outscored B’ville 13-4 in the second quarter and built a sizable third-quarter lead, led by Ava Angello, who would finish with 13 points.
Yet B’ville pulled within one, 24-23, and then took over in the fourth quarter with a series of defensive stops and baskets from Sydney Huhtala, who had 17 points, and Jayda Pyle, who added 11 points.
CBA, on the other hand, saw its four-game win streak upended last Friday on its home court by Chittenango, the Brothers taking a 46-24 defeat to the Bears.
Defense ruled in the first half as CBA clawed to an 18-11 lead led by Chianna Williams, who finished with 15 points. But the Brothers were shut down the rest of the way as Chittenango erupted for 24 points in the fourth quarter, led by Hailee Foran, who led all individuals with 16 points.
Less than 24 hours later, CBA fell again, this time to unbeaten Indian River 51-43 in a game where the Brothers were in great shape until the Warriors closed each half strong.
IR’s 18-12 push through the fourth quarter decided matters as Canisius-bound senior Adrien LaMora poured in 26 points, 12 of them free throws. That helped overcome 17 points from Williams and 14 points from Amelia Bonacci.
A third consecutive defeat followed last Tuesday night, CBA overwhelmed by Section IV’s Johnson City in a 57-27 loss. Williams led the Brothers with just seven points.
Jamesville-DeWitt found itself at 3-2 going into its game at Central Square on Dec. 17, where the Red Rams had to fight hard to earn a 50-45 victory over the Redhawks.
As usual, J-D flourished most when it spread its production around. Freshman Ava Sandroni led the Rams with 13 points, with Aniyah Neal getting 10 points as Sadie Withers had nine points and Victoria Payne had six points.
Even bigger, as far as J-D was concerned, was the way it played against Fulton last Tuesday night, the Rams’ offense perking up and needing to do so in order to beat the Red Raiders 62-57 in overtime.
Having steadily built a 28-16 halftime advantage, J-D saw Fulton roar to life on offense as the second half wore on, the comeback led by Natalie Frost, who put in a game-high 22 points.
Eventually the Red Raiders tied it, 52-52, but in the OT period J-D regained its poise and doubled Fulton’s output, 10-5. Macy Durkin led with 16 points, with nine of Sandroni’s 15 points coming at the free-throw line. Withers earned 12 points and Miriam Zoghby finished with eight points.
East Syracuse Minoa improved to 2-3 on the season by defeating Solvay 44-31 on Dec. 16, the Spartans jumping out to a 15-6 first-quarter advantage and never letting the Bearcats catch up.
A 53-38 defeat to Auburn followed last Tuesday night, and though Angelina Polcaro had 12 points, Aryanna Finkelstein got 10 points and Paige Butterfield had nine points, ESM could not stop the Maroons’ Leah Middleton from getting 27 points, nine rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocks.
