BALDWINSVILLE – While many sides might enjoy a long and legitimate rest period after a long road trip to another part of the country, that was not what the Baldwinsville girls basketball did.
Less than a week after returning from the KSA Tournament in Orlando, Florida, the Bees were back in local action, reminding everyone that it meant to challenge the likes of Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse for local Class AAA supremacy.
In particular, B’ville impressed in its Dec. 28 game against Oswego, where with a near-perfect start on both ends it set an aggressive tone that remained throughout a 73-41 win over the Buccaneers.
Instead of a bit of rust following its 2-1 showing in Florida, the Bees instead jumped all over Oswego, forcing a string of turnovers and turning them into baskets on the way to leading 28-7 at the end of the first quarter.
All but one of the B’ville players got on the scoresheet, with freshman Olivia Davis at the forefront as she produced 17 points, most of it from hitting four 3-pointers.
Delaney Nizar, on her way to a season-best 15 points, hit on two 3-pointers, as did Madison Polky, who got 12 points, and Natalie Hollingshead, accounting for all of her six points. Maddie Simons and Caprie Hartman also had six points.
What the Bees hoped was that this hot shooting would carry over into 2024, where it arrived with an 8-2 record and ready to go into the second half of the regular season.
Henninger was the Bees’ first opponent in the new year, carrying a 4-2 record of its own, and would serve as the last test before next Tuesday’s showdown with Liverpool exactly one week later.
And B’ville, who had just entered the state Class AAA rankings in the no. 21 spot, passed the test, prevailing 62-51 in a game that started as a blowout but evolved into a tense, lively affair that required late-game poise for the Bees to subdue the Black Knights.
Over the game’s first six minutes, Henninger could not do much in the face of B’ville’s pressure, shut out as the Bees scored enough on the other end to jump out to a 14-0 advantage.
But as the Black Knights settled down and started to produce baskets, it cut into that deficit, led by the duo of Inise Odom, who finished with 16 points, and Sanai Lee, who had 12 points.
B’ville’s lead was down to three, 28-25 and 36-33, twice in the third quarter. Each time, a brief spurt by the Bees stretched it out, but again Henninger battled back and only trailed by two, 41-39, early in the final period.
Then came the game’s pivotal sequence. Chasing down an air ball, the Bees were under heavy pressure as the shot clock ran down. Just before it hit zero, Davis launched a 3-pointer – which swished.
It never got as close again, B’ville able to get away helped by Hollingshead hitting on seven free throws to account for most of her 11 points.
Four Bees scored in double figures, led by Davis, whose five 3-pointers mostly led to her 19 points. Simons was strong, too, getting 18 points as Polky finished with 10 points.
B’ville’s next home game is on Jan. 12 against Auburn.
