J-D found itself hosting Ithaca last Wednesday night with only a 4-6 record, needing some spark – and did enough here, the Red Rams defeating the Little Red 45-37.

Even the result didn’t reflect how much J-D dominated in the first three quarters, its defense stifling on a consistent basis and a margin growing to 37-17 before the Rams eased up late.
Ava Sandroni, with 14 points, paced the attack. Savannah Schnorr also hit double figures with 10 points, while Samantha Wheeler earned eight points.

Without any time to rest, the Rams won again Thursday, handling Nottingham 51-22 with a defense that limited the Bulldogs to two points in the first quarter and just 10 points total in the second half.

Sandroni nearly matched Nottingham by herself, finishing with 20 points. Sadie Withers’ pair of 3-pointers accounted for most of her eight points and Lindsay Parker added seven points.

But then a far tougher game loomed Saturday as J-D would face defending sectional champion and Class A no. 6-ranked Indian River, who had routed Christian Brothers Academy the week before.

Again establishing itself as the team to beat in the Class A ranks, IR beat the Red Rams 57-38, dominating the first half by establishing a 35-9 margin.

Ravan Marsell (17 points, nine assists, five rebounds, four steals) led IR, helped by Isabella Davis and her double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Most of the 11 points from Withers and 10 points from Sandroni came in the late stages.

Back on Friday night, it was Bishop Grimes against state Class AAA no. 19-ranked Bishop Ludden, and the Gaelic Knights proved too much, defeating the Cobras 71-52.

Grimes did match baskets during an 18-18 first quarter, but from there Ludden took charge, outscoring the Cobras 35-19 over the course of the next two periods.

Kierra Baxter led Grimes with 15 points, Sicily Shaffer earning 12 points and Aaliyah Zachery adding 10 points, but the more experienced Ludden roster got 21 points and eight assists from Ava Carpenter as Jordyn Townes added 15 points.

Fayetteville-Manlius was 3-10 on the season going into last Wednesday’s game against Rome Free Academy, and things did not improve during a 64-36 defeat to the Black Knights.
The Hornets did lead 10-7 through one period, only to see RFA outscore them 40-13 over the course of the next two quarters and have all nine players that saw action get at least one field goal.

Mia Knuth and Jane Ryan both had 11 points to pace F-M, with Taylor Novack adding six points. Topping all of them, RFA’s Haylee Bostwick led all individuals with 20 points.

But F-M did recover on Friday and got an impressive 55-52 overtime victory over Auburn, holding the Maroons to three points in the second quarter to go in front before seeing its 24-16 halftime advantage mostly melt away in the third quarter.

Regrouping, the Hornets would outscore Auburn 8-5 in the four-minute OT and see Lydia Land-Steves put together, by far, the best performance of her career.

All Land-Steves did was earn 29 points, including four 3-pointers and 12 successful free throws. This, along with 13 points from Knuth, helped to overcome the 28 points from Auburn standout Peyton Maneri.

A late-season slump for Christian Brothers Academy continued last Friday when it lost, 55-28, to Syracuse Academy of Science, held in check by an Atoms side that never allowed more than 10 points in any single quarter.

Chianna Williams managed just five points as Lilah Kirch, with nine points, paced the Brothers. Daniella McLean starred for SAS with 22 points and 10 rebounds as Shayla Baker got 13 points and 12 rebounds.

East Syracuse Minoa had its own struggles Friday in a 67-22 loss to Fulton, seeing top scorer Aniyah Jones held to five points behind teammate Bella Kroll (seven points) as Natalie Frost (13 points), Mandy Miller (12 points) and Abbie Payment (10 points) led the Red Dragons.