CENTRAL NEW YORK – A four-day stretch from Dec. 27 to 30 saw several area high school girls basketball teams take their shots both inside and outside of tournament play, with wildly varying results.
Bishop Ludden excelled in back-to-back games starting last Friday at Utica’s Nexus Center where it faced New Hartford and, after an uneven start, took over and got a 60-44 win over the Spartans.
Rough early shooting was masked by the Gaelic Knights holding New Hartford to six points in the first quarter and building its lead the rest of the way led by Jordyn Townes, who poured in 22 points and added eight rebounds and four steals.
Elizabeth Gaughan and Bridget Dunham matched each other with 11 points and six rebounds, Gaughan adding five assists and four steals. Ava Carpenter got six assists and five steals to go with her seven points.
Then Ludden defeated Central Valley Academy 53-44 a day later using an 18-9 push through the second quarter to move out in front for good.
Carpenter had her best all-around game of the season, piling up 21 points, six assists, five steals and four rebounds. Townes remained strong, too, with 15 points and four assists as Dunham contributed eight points and four steals.
Westhill continued its surge from an 0-2 start, earning its fifth consecutive victory when it jumped out early against Syracuse Academy of Science and went on to defeat the Atoms 59-44.
It was 16-4 before the first quarter was over, and the Warriors protected that lead with a unique double-double from Lizzy McPeak that included 10 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals.
Meanwhile, Kara Rosenberger got 22 points and added three steals, with Izzy Young earning 14 points and eight rebounds. Sophia Lasher finished with six points and six rebounds.
In a possible playoff preview, 6-1 Marcellus met up with 6-1 General Brown on Dec. 29 and, despite a sensational performance by Cece Powell, still lost 59-57 to the Lions.
From the time GB rallied from an early deficit to lead 24-22 at halftime, it was tense and tight. Doing all she could, Powell piled up a season-best 33 points, helped by Tenly Baker’s 15 points and six rebounds.
Still, the Lions matched all of it, led by Mollie Peckham’s 21 points and six rebounds along with Madelyn Ferris getting 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Marcellus fell to 6-2 overall.
West Genesee took a 4-2 record to the East Syracuse Minoa Tournament, only to get upended 50-44 by Christian Brothers Academy in the Dec. 27 opening round.
What made it even more frustrating was that the Wildcats jumped out 17-3 on the Brothers, only to get just 15 points over the course of the next two periods as CBA chipped away at the margin, then went in front in the fourth quarter.
Bella Quinones, with 12 points, led WG’s attack. Emily Schiffer and Madison Newkirk-Meyer had nine points apiece, but they were all well behind the 19 points put up by CBA’s Chianna Williams that keyed the comeback.
A day later, in a close consolation game against Watertown, the Wildcats prevailed in a tense 53-49 decision thanks to a scoring balance it had rarely displayed throughout the first month of the season.
Four different WG players hit double figures, led by Hannah Sparks, who had 14 points. Schiffer got 11 points, while Quinones and Mia Raymond each got 10 points. Newkirk-Mayer added seven points.
Solvay was 0-4 when it finally got into the win column Dec. 29, edging Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 46-44 with a remarkable late-game comeback.
Trailing 38-26 going to the fourth quarter, the Bearcats forced mistakes on one end and converted on the the other, outscoring the Rebels 20-6 to pull out the victory.
Shay’Eanna Turk led this comeback, finishing her day with 22 points, six steals and five rebounds. Neonna Turkc had 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, five steals and three blocks as Annabelle Stewart and Veah Burke got 10 rebounds apiece.
