CENTRAL NEW YORK – A memorable Wednesday afternoon of Section III girls basketball playoff action saw two local sides advance to the Clsas B semifinals as two others were eliminated, ending some remarkable individual careers.
At the center of it was Westhill and Skaneateles, who met in the Class B quarterfinals. Avenging an earlier defeat, the no. 4 seed Warriors defeated the no. 5 seed Lakers 55-42.
Skaneateles had prevailed 46-33 earlier this month, ending Westhill’s 11-game win streak, and for a long while the Lakers had every reason to think the rematch may provide a similar happy outcome.
Neither team could get away from one another in the first three quarters. Once the final period got underway, though, Westhill took charge on both ends, finally able to solve the Skaneateles defense in a consistent manner.
Outscoring the Lakers 21-10 in the fourth quarter, the Warriors saw Janiah Robinson finish with 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Jules Bleskoski defended Skaneateles’ top star, Maddy Ramsgard, quite well, finishing with 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four steals. Izzy Young had 12 points and seven rebounds as Tess Roesch got nine points and six rebounds.
Later that day, Marcellus, as a no. 7 seed, went on the road and, against no. 2 seed Mexico, put together another impressive effort against the Tiges and prevailed 48-39.
Despite Mexico’s 18-3 record, the Mustangs had beaten them 51-34 a week earlier, and that confidence carried over into this game, too, especially on defense.
Marcellus limited the Tigers to just two points in the first quarter, then answered when Mexico began to convert on its way to a 26-15 halftime lead.
Even when the Tigers got within two, 35-33, by the end of the third quarter, the Mustangs absorbed it and, led again by Cece Powell and Bella Mondello, took charge again in the late going.
Powell worked her way to 26 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, while Mondello gained 16 points. Mexico’s Anyssia Ingersoll had 18 points, but no other Tigers player scored in double figures.
But while Marcellus and Westhill kept going, Bishop Ludden could not, its valiant effort in the sectional Class AA quarterfinal turned back in a 73-57 defeat to Liverpool.
Having lost twice to the no. 3 seed Warriors in January, the no. 6 seed Gaelic Knights believed it could turn things around, and nearly did so.
A foul-filled first half left Ludden trailing 41-30 at the break, but then hot 3-point shooting from Amarah Streiff and Bridget Dunham sparked a fierce third-quarter comeback.
Twice, the Gaelic Knights got within one, 50-49 and then 54-53 early in the fourth quarter, but then Liverpool cranked up its defense and held Ludden without a field goal for more than seven minutes.
Meanwhile, Naveah Wingate, the Warriors’ senior star, took over on the other end, notching 14 of her 28 points in the final period, all during a decisive 19-2 run.
Streiff, the Gaelic Knights’ all-time leading scorer with more than 2,000 points, had 18 points in what turned out to be the last game of her high school career, with Dunham adding 15 points and Elizabeth Gaughan getting 13 points.
