CENTRAL NEW YORK – Both a difficult schedule and gaps between games has disrupted the rhythm the Cazenovia girls basketball team wanted to establish this winter.
However, the Lakers may have thought it was well clear of its Madison County neighbors from Chittenango – but that did not prove the case.
Despite entering the night with a 4-7 record, the Bears went out in front early in last Thursday night’s game and never surrendered that advantage, defeating Cazenovia 52-41.
There were few dazzling scoring runs. Instead, Chittenango found a way to outscore the Lakers in all four quarters, steadily gaining a 38-29 edge by the end of the third.
Depth made a difference, too, even as Carleigh Szalach led Cazenovia with 18 points and Lily Clonan had 10 points.
Only five different Lakers got on the scoreboard as opposed to eight for the Bears, who were led by Hailee Foran and Megan Kingsley with 10 points apiece. Close behind them, Alazayah Smith had nine points, with Alison Soulier getting eight points and Brooke Soulier adding six points.
Two nights earlier, Cazenovia went up against 8-2 Homer last Tuesday night and put lots of points on the board, but still lost 70-61 to the Trojans.
The game was close until the second quarter, when Homer outscored the Lakers 26-12 to establish a 38-20 halftime margin.
With its own 24-14 push in the third quarter, Cazenovia made up ground, but its comeback fell short as Grace Patriarco led the Trojans with 24 points and Catherine Apker added 17 points.
Meanwhile, Chittenango got close to knocking off the other Lakers from Skaneateles before taking a 41-38 defeat.
Despite scoring just three points in the second quarter, the Bears tied it, 31-31, going to the fourth quarter, but could not quite match Skaneateles’ late production, led by Maddy Ramsgard, who had 21 points.
Foran had 11 points, with Maryanna Garcia and Allison Soulier earning eight points apiece. The closeness of that game gave Chittenango confidence that carried over into the win over Cazenovia.
And right after topping the Lakers, the Bears faced East Syracuse Minoa Friday and, partially due to a quick start, was able to hold off the Spartans 37-33.
Keeping ESM in check, Chittenango led 13-5 by the end of the first quarter, and its defense did a good job protecting that margin until a late Spartans comeback that fell just short. Allison Soulier and Mia McReynolds had nine points apiece, with Foran adding eight points.
