CENTRAL NEW YORK – Four sets of Section III girls basketball playoffs get underway this week for area teams, with Marcellus among the Class B favorites and Bishop Ludden set to make a challenge in Class AAA.
Both are no. 3 seeds in their respective brackets, with the Mustangs meeting no. 14 seed Clinton in Tuesday’s opening round well before the Gaelic Knights face no. 6 seed Henninger next Saturday at 3 p.m. in the AAA quarterfinals.
Ludden received quite a boost right before the sectional tournament when, in last Thursday’s game against state Class B no. 3-ranked Utica Notre Dame, it prevailed 73-69 over the Jugglers.
These teams had met in mid-January in the Juggler Classic, Ludden withstanding a late UND rally to win 64-59. Now, riding a seven-game win streak and having won 14 of its last 15, the Gaelic Knights would get challenged again, but in a different way.
A steady first half had Ludden in front 37-30, and it appeared to put the game away by outscoring the Jugglers 20-11 in the third quarter, but UND roared back late led by Ella Trinkaus, who finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.
To hang on, the Gaelic Knights leaned on a balanced offense. Bridget Dunham finished with 21 points, while Jordyn Townes put in 18 points and added seven rebounds. Elizabeth Gaughan stepped up with 15 points, six rebounds and six steals as Sophia Chemotti go 10 points, five assists and four rebounds. Ava Carpenter dished out 10 assists to go with seven points and three steals.
West Genesee is part of a wide-open Class AA sectional tournament and, as the no. 4 seed, hosts no. 5 seed Fayetteville-Manlius in Friday night’s quarterfinal round at 5 p.m.
Before this, the Wildcats had a chance to finish .500 in the regular season on Senior Night last Monday before taking a 54-48 overtime loss to Bishop Grimes.
They went back and forth throughout regulation, starting slow and then trading baskets through mid-game spurts until, at the end of regulation, the two sides were even at 45-45.
Grimes showed its poise, though, by outscoring the Wildcats 9-3 in the four-minute OT period, Bella Quinones and Mia Raymond led WG with 14 points apiece. with Cobras eighth-grader Aaliyah Zachery getting 11 of her 18 points at the free-throw line and Sicily Shaffer stepping up with 16 points.
Westhill rallied in the fourth quarter last Tuesday to defeat Christian Brothers Academy 39-36, getting that late advantage through a combination of strong, consistent defense and timely baskets.
The defense came from Eva Tarolli, who amassed 15 rebounds, adding two blocks to go with her six points. Izzy Young had six rebounds and two blocks while producing 12 points as Reagan Rogers got all of her nine points from three 3-pointers and Rosie Mahoney earned seven points.
In a 12-team sectional Class A bracket, Westhill, as a no. 4 seed, gets a bye straight into the quarterfinals, where next Saturday at noon it faces no. 5 seed Central Valley Academy or no. 12 seed Chittenango.
Skaneateles is in the Class B bracket but first had to play a pair of games, starting last Monday when it fell 51-31 to Cortland, the reigning sectional champions now up in Class A and no. 5 in those state rankings, no Lakers player getting more than Ayla Pas’cal’s total of eight points as she added five assists and four steals.
Then, on Thursday night, Skaneateles beat Syracuse West 59-30 to close its regular season at 10-10, and it was a breakout game for Pas’cal, who matched the opposition all by herself thanks to a career-best 30 points. Tobi DiRubbo added 10 points.
Jordan-Elbridge had its own encounter with a state-ranked opponent before the sectional playoffs and found Hamilton, no. 4 in the state in Class C, quite tough in a 64-54 defeat to the Emerald Knights.
A close game broke open when Hamilton outscored the Eagles 20-8 in the third quarter, something J-E could not overcome despite 18 points from Makayla Penird, 14 points from Abbie Ahern and 11 points from Erin LaVancha.
To lead the Emerald Knights, Lindsey Speer had 18 points and nine rebounds, with Logan Langel (17 points), Reagan Hope and Colleen Kelly (11 points) also hitting double figures, Kelly also getting 10 rebounds and three assists.
J-E, holding the no. 7 seed in Class B, hosts no, 10 seed Holland Patent Tuesday night in its playoff opener just as Skaneateles, the no. 9 seed, visits no. 8 seed Syracuse Academy of Science.
