CENTRAL SQUARE – Heading toward the midway point of Wednesday night’s Section III Class AAA semifinal at Central Square, the Baldwinsville girls basketball team had to like what it was seeing.
The no. 4 seed Bees were hitting enough of the outside shots it knew it needed, and its defense, especially in the interior, was causing some frustration for the top-seeded Warriors.
An upset of the reigning two-time sectional Class AA champions was imaginable – until it wasn’t.
A combination of B’ville’s own errors and the relentless push of Liverpool on both ends in the game’s middle stages proved too much to overcome as the Bees fell by a score of 66-48.
They had met twice in the regular season. The Warriors overwhelmed the Bees 57-34 the first time around Jan. 9, but a month later the rematch was much closer, a 15-6 third quarter by Liverpool the difference in a 56-46 decision.
Everyone knew the stakes of the third encounter – namely, a trip to Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall for Saturday’s sectional final against Cicero-North Syracuse, who had routed Bishop Ludden 60-31 in the first semifinal.
Encouragement for the Bees was found when, in the game’s first two minutes, it made its first three 3-point shots – two by Natalie Hollingshead, another by Maddie Simons.
This, along with a third 3-pointer from Hollingshead late in the first quarter, got B’ville in front, and it was still there with a 23-22 lead three minutes into the second quarter.
As this was happening, the Bees’ aggressive style forced Liverpool into a series of fouls and many trips to the line, a real chance to establish a lead and put some doubt into the Warriors.
Instead, of the 12 free throws the Bees took in the first half, only two were converted.
This proved bigger when, with the game tied 24-24, Liverpool found its higher gear, closing the half on a 12-0 run and extending it to 20-3 deep into the third quarter.
A’briyah Cunningham led that push, earning 18 of her 23 points in the first half, but she would get help late from Angie Kohler, who finished with 16 points, and Kaylyn Sweeney, who got 10 points.
It was Sweeney’s 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter which halted a B’ville rally that had cut the margin to 48-39, and it never was in single digits again.
Though she cooled off, Hollingshead still led the Bees with 14 points. Olivia Davis chimed in with 13 points, while Madison Polky had eight points and Nela Loftin six points.
Finishing its season at 16-6, B’ville will see four seniors graduate, most notably Loftin and Simons, Bringing back Polky, Davis and Hollingshead gives the Bees a solid core with which, in 2024-25, it will try to make another championship push.
