CENTRAL NEW YORK – As they dashed into February, the area’s trio of strong Class B girls basketball teams all had opportunities to built upon what they had already done with the Section III playoffs looming.
Westhill had ridden a nine-game win streak to the no. 24 spots in last week’s state Class B rankings, which it would defend well Thursday night in a 53-36 victory over Cazenovia.’
To its credit, the Lakers played most of the game on fairly even terms, but only after Westhill dashed out 19-4 in the first quarter to establish a margin that remained stable.
Tess Roesch, with 16 points, led the attack, while Janiah Robinson had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, plus four steals and three assists. Jules Bleskoski got 10 points and six rebounds as Kara Rosenberger added six points.
Then, in Saturday’s game against visiting Holland Patent, Westhill built a big early cushion and would need it to hold off the Golden Knights 48-43.
Despite a 7-8 record, HP didn’t get rattled when the Warriors worked its way to a 30-18 halftime advantage. Instead, the Golden Knights chipped away led by Terra McLaughlin’s 12 points and six steals and Emily Carlson’s nine points and seven rebounds.
Robinson and Izzy Young combined to make sure the win streak didn’t end, with Robinson earning 18 points and 13 points as Young stepped up with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. Roesch added seven rebounds and five assists.
Skaneateles got another lopsided victory last Tuesday when it zoomed past Syracuse Academy of Science 61-24 in a game that featured a personal milestone.
When Lakers senior Maddy Ramsgard hit a step-back 3-pointer, she surpassed 1,000 career points, and did so on Senior Night when she was recognized with fellow seniors Katie Reed, Ella Buchholz and Molly Nicholson.
For the game, Ramsgard had 21 points, nearly matching SAS all by herself. Ayla Pas’cal and Finnly Pas’cal had nine points apiece as Allie Michel got seven points and Bella Pietropaoli six points.
Marcellus got its 10th win of the season with relative ease last Monday against Syracuse West, the Mustangs prevailing 64-23 as it peaked with a 23-4 blitz through the second quarter.
Cece Powell easily outscored Syracuse West by herself, finishing with 34 points, while Bella Mondello and Gabby Voss provided modest help with eight points apiece.
As a follow-up on Saturday afternoon, Marcellus met Phoenix and, using a 15-2 domination of the second quarter, seized control against the Firebirds on the way to a 47-29 victory.
Hitting on four 3-pointers, Powell ended up with 23 points overall, helped by nine points from Aldrich and six points from Voss. No Phoenix player hit double figures as Sara Ruetsch led with eight points.
Solvay took a 57-19 defeat to Hannibal last Thursday night, the 12-6 Warriors getting 18 points apiece from Tenly Baker and Samantha Emmons as, for the Bearcats, Jayde Coyne had nine points, Neonna Turk seven points and Shay’Eanna Turk eight rebounds.
