CENTRAL NEW YORK – Just when it seemed that the Westhill girls basketball team was gaining an edge among area OHSL Liberty division teams, Marcellus stepped to the forefront.
When these two long-time rivals clashed last Wednesday night, the visiting Mustangs ignored the Warriors’ recent strong play and no. 13 state Class B ranking, prevailing 62-57 for its biggest win of the season so far.
Marcellus was coming off a 55-39 loss to Buffalo’s Cardinal O’Hara at Bishop Grimes earlier in the week, but managed to keep pace early with Westhill and then outscored them 20-12 in the second quarter to go in front.
With that 35-30 halftime lead, the Mustangs spent the entire second half fending off a series of Warriors charges, and Katie MacLachlan was a big reason for it.
Hitting on all kinds of shots and sinking five free throws, MacLachlan finished with 28 points, outscoring Westhill star Catherine Dadey, who had 22 points.
Ample support came from Hannah Rogalia, who had 13 points, and Cece Powell, who put in 10 points. In defeat, the Warriors saw Janiah Robinson return to the lineup and get 16 points as Kate Heinrich got 10 points.
Skaneateles had lost two in a row when it visited Chittenango last Tuesday, and needing a great performance from Maddy Ramsgard, plus some timely defense, to edge the Bears 41-38.
Despite Ramsgard’s production, the two sides were tied, 31-31, going to the fourth quarter, when Skaneateles bore down on defense and mostly kept Chittenango quiet late.
Meanwhile, Ramsgard worked her total to 21 points, helped by Maeve McNeil, who had eight points, and Ayla Pas’cal, who had seven points. Hailee Foran paced the Bears with 11 points.
Prevailing again on Saturday, Skaneateles handled Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 68-32, highlighted by a 22-2 third-quarter dash as Ramsgard earned 21 points, Pas’cal adding 15 points and McNeil earning 10 points.
West Genesee absorbed a 64-52 defeat to Liverpool last Tuesday night in Camillus, where Mollie James poured in 19 points and Erin DiPaola added 16 points, but Naveah Wingates spurred the Warriors by scoring 30 points.
Then the Wildcats traveled to Cicero-North Syracuse on Friday, where it had fine production in the second half, but only after a rough start as it lost to the Northstars 63-51.
Shut down for long stretches of the first half, WG found itself trailing 34-13 at the break, but fought back late as Hannah Sparks provided a spark with a trio of 3-pointers on her way to 16 points overall.
DiPaola, with 14 points, and James, with 12 points, also had strong showings, but C-NS kept it from getting too close as Alexa Kulakowski got 21 points, with Alita Carey-Santagelo and Brayden Schultz each earning 13 points.
Solvay took a 38-28 defeat to APW last Wednesday night, and followed it up Saturday by losing 51-26 to Hannibal.
