CENTRAL NEW YORK – Knowing that the Section III Class AA championship might get settled between them, the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool girls basketball teams meet head-to-head Tuesday night.
They do so coming off a strong opening week of 2023, one where the Northstars were dominant in the wake of back-to-back losses in the Diamond State Classic in Delaware during the holiday break, including a 48-39 decision to Caravel (Delaware) on Dec. 29 where no C-NS player scored in double figures.
Going to Baldwinsville last Tuesday, the Northstars took out the frustrations from that trip out on the Bees as it pulled away and won by a 65-25 margin.
Over the course of the last three quarters, C-NS dominated on both ends, the defense forcing a string of turnovers and the offense well-balanced behind Kathleen Taru’s 19 points.
Mallory Brooks earned 12 points, with Brianna Weaver (nine points) and Jilly Howell (eight points) nearly getting to double figures and Maddy Howell adding six points.
This happened as Liverpool took on Henninger, one of the season’s biggest surprises, and had perhaps its best all-around effort so far in a 75-42 romp over the Black Knights.
Ignoring Henninger’s 6-2 record, the Warriors also made the opposition pay for its attention given to the program’s all-time leading scorer, Neveah Wingate.
The Black Knights held Wingate to 14 points, but A’briyah Cunningham got 16 points and Grace Sleeth 12 points as Gianna Washington had nine points. Jakeira Stackhouse and Angelina Kohler had six points apiece.
Just 24 hours later, Liverpool was at Auburn, a rematch of their Dec. 9 game won by the Warriors 62-57 – and here it was even closer, spilling into overtime before, again, Liverpool pulled it out, 69-64.
Trailing most of the first quarter, the Warriors surged late to get in front, 17-15, and led by as much as eight in the third quarter before Auburn went back in front late in the period thanks to five straight points from Leah Middleton.
As before, Middleton was impossible to contain, burning Liverpool’s defense for 36 points to go with six rebounds, four steals and three assists, and it nearly was enough.
But the Warriors were able to tie it, 60-60, and had a chance to go in front in the closing seconds of regulation. Sweeney missed all three of her free-throw attempts and, after an Auburn turnover, was unable to convert as time ran out.
In the four-minute OT period, Wingate took charge, scoring seven of her team’s nine points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer, to finish with 23 points.
Prior to that, Cunningham had broke out, her 24 points a new career mark as Sleeth finished with 11 points. Other than Middleton, only Peyton Maneri, with 12 points, hit double figures for the Maroons, who turned it over 22 times.
C-NS had its own road trip on Friday, to Fayetteville-Manlius, and trailed early before taking over in a big way to produce a 67-33 victory over the Hornets.
A 22-point second quarter was followed by the Northstars outscoring the Hornets 36-8 in the last two quarters, led by Bri Weaver, who hit five 3-pointers on her way to a career-best 23 points. Taru finished with 13 points, with Jilly Howell getting eight points and Maddy Howell seven points.
