CENTRAL NEW YORK – Sometimes as much positive energy can be taken out of close defeats than lopsided victories, something the young Bishop Grimes girls basketball team understands.
The Cobras’ 55-48 defeat to Bishop Ludden last Monday night fit into the category of moral victory, in that Grimes, unlike its 71-52 loss to the Gaelic Knights 10 days earlier, it kept things tight and tense until the final minutes.
Even more encouraging was the way the Cobras battled back after Ludden closed the first quarter on an 11-0 run, took the lead for good, and stretched that margin to 35-23 early in the second half.
Despite foul trouble for Aaliyah Zachery, the Cobras made its own push and got within two, 48-46, with nearly three minutes to play. Only then did the Gaelic Knights get away with key baskets by Ava Carpenter and Bridget Dunham. Carpenter led all scorers with 18 points and Townes had most of her 15 points in the second half.
Leading Grimes, seventh-grader Gia Kinsey had 13 points and Sicily Shaffer 12 points as Zachery got eight points and Riley Abernethy, coming off the bench for long stretches in Zachery’s absence, had nine points.
This led to Friday’s game betwewen Grimes and Christian Brothers Academy, who just in time broke out of a month-long slump when it defeated the Cobras 60-37.
Everything fell for the Brothers as it jumped out 23-6 in the first quarter, and to make sure Grimes didn’t come back, it held the Cobras to just three points in the third quarter.
Chiana Williams started to find her early-season form and finished with 22 points, while Sydney Vaughn had 11 points and Cara Macaluso seven points. For Grimes, only Kinsey, with 16 points, reached double figures.
More important, from CBA’s perspective, was its tough 35-30 overtime win over Fayetteville-Manlius less than 24 hours later in a game that could prove a post-season preview.
Despite a tremendous first half on defense, CBA blew a 19-8 halftime lead. The Hornets caught up at 30-30, only to get held to a single free throw in the four minutes of OT as Williams, with 19 points, accounted for most of the Brothers’ production and Taylor Novack did the same for F-M with 16 points.
CBA had lost to Syracuse Academy of Science 44-37 earlier in the week, held to 12 combined points in the second and third quarters and unable to rally, though Liana Thomas had 12 points and Chiana Williams added nine points as Carmella Fairbanks got seven points.
Before it lost to CBA, F-M had won six of nine games, peaking Friday with an impressive 60-43 victory over Fulton where it outscored the Red Dragons 36-15 over the course of the second and third quarters.
Lydia Land-Steves, with 15 points, led the Hornets, but she had lots of help. Piper Gentry stepped up with 11 points, while Novack had nine points, Jane Ryan eight points and Mia Knuth seven points.
This followed a 55-42 win over West Genesee back on Tuesday where F-M jumped out 18-9, and mostly kept that margin until the third quarter, when WG made a 16-8 push to pull within three, 37-34, only to have the Hornets regroup late and put the game away.
Continuing her recent strong play, Land-Steves led all scorers with 23 points that included four 3-pointers. Knuth helped with 10 points, while Novack had nine points.
Two other local teams met Tuesday night and Jamesville-DeWitt was able to outfight East Syracuse Minoa in another 35-30 battle defined by the defenses.
Neither side could score much in the first half, but the Red Rams edged in front and took a 17-15 lead to the third quarter, where it built the rest of its eventual margin.
Ava Sandroni did pick up 12 points, with Sadie Withers getting seven pionts and Savannah Schnorr adding six points. Despite the constant focus of J-D’s defenders, the Spartans’ Aniyah Jones led all scorers with 14 points as Sonya Benhassen got nine points.
Both J-D and ESM would lose on Friday, the Rams falling to state Class AAA no. 6-ranked Liverpool 51-27 in a game close until the Warriors shut out J-D in the third quarter. The Spartans fell 36-32 to Nottingham, getting little production beyond the 24 points put up by Jones.
