CENTRAL NEW YORK – As the Cazenovia girls basketball team matched up against its namesakes from Skaneateles last Monday night, it did so having won its previous two games.
A rout over Solvay on Dec. 4 was followed, exactly one week later, by a far closer game against LaFayette where a late comeback was needed to get past the Lancers 41-39.
Held to six points in the first quarter, Cazenovia gradually picked up its production, yet still saw LaFayette lead most of the game’s middles stages and go to the fourth quarter in front 35-30.
However, the Lakers got the final push, helped by an attack spread evenly three ways.
Ella Baker, Sophie Rheaume and Bess Johnson all made key contributions down the stretch and finished on the same total of 13 points. Baker added nine rebounds, with Rheaume getting five rebounds, Jocelyn Szalach four assists and Avaya Weismore three steals.
Meeting Skaneateles on Friday at Buckley Gym, Cazenovia dropped this latest Laker duel 49-38, unable to recover from a second quarter where those other Lakers only surrendered two points.
Down 23-10 at the break, Cazenovia tried to rally, seeing Hayden Bubble get 13 points and Johnson add 12 points, but Skaneateles stayed out in front led by Ayla Pas’cal’s 16 points and Bella Pietropaoli’s 14 points.
Chittenango had a rough start to its week last Monday, falling to Bishop Grimes 61-30 in a game where the Cobras’ defense never let the Bears reach double-digit points in any single quarter.
Though each of the seven players that saw action got a field goal, only Abby Scheidelman, with 13 points, produced on a consistent basis. Grimes had eighth-grader Aaliyah Zachery pour in 26 points, helped by 12 points from Elizabeth Corl and 10 points from Kierra Baxter.
Taking on Homer Thursday night, Chittenango also broke into the win column, only to get thwarted in a 48-43 defeat to the Trojans.
For much of the game, Chittenango outscored Homer, but that only came after the Trojans dashed out to a 20-6 advantage by the end of the first quarter due to hot shooting. The Bears take on Mexico and reigning sectional Class B champion Cortland this week.
