CENTRAL NEW YORK – The way it is now lined up, there are area high school girls basketball teams in four different classes, all set to try and make their way into championship contention.
Of them, Bishop Ludden has the plum assignment of going up against the largest schools in the new Class AAA division, but it does so with a strong returning lineup even with the departure of Amarah Streiff.
Just how strong the Gaelic Knights might be was in evidence in last Thursday night’s season opener against Rome Free Academy, which was clinical and one-sided in Ludden’s favor as it bashed the Black Knights 76-37.
Any doubts were quickly erased, the Gaelic Knights zooming to a 27-3 lead by the end of the first quarter and continuing to build on that margin the rest of the way.
Bridget Dunham and Ava Carpenter led the way with 18 points apiece, the pair hitting six of Ludden’s nine 3-pointers. Jordyn Townes, with 13 points, also hit double figures, with Sophia Chemotti adding nine points and Elizabeth Gaughan eight points.
Great as this was, though, it was tempered a bit by turning around on Friday night and taking a 55-45 defeat to Liverpool, the reigning sectional Class AA champions.
Like Ludden, the Warriors lost its top player, Neveah Wingate, to graduation, but returned a solid core that, at Ludden, held the hosts to eight points in the first quarter and remained steady until it went to halftime carrying a 28-19 advantage.
All through the second half, Ludden tried to make a sustained run, but the Warriors kept answering them, with junior A’briyah Cunningham at the forefront with a game-high 21 points, getting help from Gianna Washington, who had 11 points.
Dunham led Ludden with 20 points, but Carpenter was held without a field goal as Chemotti got 10 points, with Gaughan and Townes earning six points apiece.
Among the Class B favorites, Marcellus got a tough opening assignment against reigning sectional and regional champion Cortland, who played tough defense in defeating the Mustangs 50-44.
A closely played first half saw neither side able to establish much of a margin. Then, in the third quarter, Marcellus saw its slim 22-20 advantage vanish as the Purple Tigers outscored them 13-6 in that frame.
Unable to make it back, the Mustangs still saw Tenly Baker lead all scores with 20 points. Cece Powell had nine points and Gabby Voss eight points, but Cortland got through with 17 points from Valerosa Gambitta, 11 points from Kendall Mack and nine points from Claire Turner.
That same Thursday night, Skaneateles opened against Chittenango, and the Lakers’ 54-42 winning margin did not reflect on just how well it started against the Bears.
Skaneaeteles zoomed out to a 38-11 advantage by halftime and spread its production around. Finn Pas’cal led the way, earning 14 points, while Ayla Pas’cal and Ellie Walsh had nine points apiece and Tobi DiRubbo added six points.
Also in Class B, Jordan-Elbridge dropped its season opener last Wednesday to Southern Cayuga 53-36, falling behind 18-6 after one period and never making a full recovery.
Still, Abbie Ahern managed 15 points, one of just four Eagles to get on the board. Makayla Penird had nine points, with Ava Hildebrant and Madison Clochessy adding six points apiece.
