CENTRAL NEW YORK – From three unique angles, three area high school girls basketball teams found themselves in the Section III Class AA quarterfinals, each of them believing that they could make a championship push.
Of them, only Fayetteville-Manlius was able to make it to the semifinal round, and the way it did so only made it more impressive.
It wasn’t that the no. 5 seed Hornets went on the road to Camillus and defeated no. 5 seed West Genesee 55-41 in Friday’s quarterfinals, but the manner in which it happened.
Despite the Wildcats’ home-court advantage, it was F-M who had won both times when they met on Jan. 16 and Feb. 6 as part of a strong late-season push following a 1-9 start.
Yet all of that seemed far away in this game’s opening minutes. The Hornets were out of sorts and WG was sharp and confident, bolting out to an 11-0 lead and blanking F-M for more than five minutes.
By the second quarter, the Hornets were in front.
Cranking up its defensive pressure, F-M was within four, 15-11, as the first period ended. Then it limited the Wildcats to a single field goal in the second quarter while outscoring them 17-2.
And it continued into the third quarter, too, WG only managing a pair of field goals and the Hornets stretching it out led by sophomore Taylor Novack, whose 22 points set a career high.
Piper Gentry had 10 points, with Morgan Goodman adding eight points as F-M held the Wildcats’ top scorer, Bella Quinones, to 10 points.
Christian Brothers Academy, the no. 3 seed, appeared to be in the best position, since it was the only one playing at home in the quarterfinal round as it faced no. 6 seed Auburn, but the Brothers could not hold on to a halftime lead and fell 56-52 to the Maroons.
All through the first half, CBA displayed strong form on both ends, converting baskets and mostly limiting Auburn’s opportunities as it eventually took a 27-21 lead to the break.
But it all turned in the third quarter. Led by Peyton Manieri (21 points) and Grace Breeze (18 points), the Maroons outscored the Brothers 25-15 in that frame, grabbing the lead and then hanging on late.
For CBA, who finished its season at 9-12, Sydney Vaughn produced 16 points, while Chiana Williams had 13 points and Carmella Fairbanks also hit double figures with 10 points.
Of the trio, only East Syracuse Minoa had to play in the opening round, carrying a 3-16 record and no. 9 seed into the playoffs, but pulling off a surprise last Tuesday when it went to no. 8 seed Oswego and beat the Buccaneers 65-54.
Yet while it seemed like an upset due to the Spartans’ record, it had won 52-48 over Oswego in January and, in the playoff rematch, jumped in front 17-12 by the end of the first quarter.
They stayed this way until the second half, when ESM gradually got away from the Bucs by not depending as much on Aniyah Jones, even as Jones finished with 26 points.
Sonya Benhassen set a career mark with 18 points (her previous high was 13), while Bella Kroll had 10 points. Leah Chavoustie got eight points as ESM overcame 19 points from Oswego’s Maria Sweet and 10 points from Peyton Bond, Alexa Kuzawski and Deyshanelis Cruz.
Now, though, the Spartans had to face top seed Central Square, a team it lost to 74-48 back on Jan. 12. Here, the Spartans were far more competitive, yet could not make up all the ground to the Redhawks, taking a 63-46 defeat.
Ultimately, the first half proved key. ESM only had nine points in each of the first two periods, allowing Central Square to build a 26-18 advantage and then keep adding to it even as the Spartans’ attack picked up.
Jones finished with 19 points, helped by Benhassen’s 13 points and Kroll’s 10 points. Natalie Bush led the Redhawks, with most of her 26 points coming from eight 3-pointers as she broke the school record for 3s in a single game.
Central Square now faces F-M in the Class AA semifinal next Tuesday at Chittenango, Auburn meeting no. 2 seed Fulton in the other semifinal and the title game set for next Saturday at 3:30 at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall.
