CENTRAL NEW YORK – Successful in its season opener, the Cazenovia girls basketball team found it more difficult against large-school competition.
Central Square, the reigning Section III Class AA champions, hosted the Lakers last Tuesday night and mostly contained them while on the way to prevailing by a 50-34 margin.
Ella Baker stood out for Cazenovia, pouring in 22 points to lead both sides. However, the rest of the Lakers had just five total field goals, three of them by Maria Vaccaro (six points) as Hannah Waldron (17 points) and Olivia Chiaramonte (11 point) led the Redhawks.
A scheduled game Friday at Oswego was postponed by the heavy snow there as the Lakers return home next Thursday to take on Bishop Grimes.
Meanwhile, Chittenango began its week with 0-2 record following a particularly tough 49-44 defeat to Port Byron in the Homer Tournament.
The Bears sprinted out to an 18-6 lead through one period and still comfortably ahead until the Panthers put together a 22-5 sprint through the third quarter and went out in front to stay.
In defeat, Abby Scheidelman earned most of her 20 points in the early going. Ella Sylstra had nine points, with Persephone Rohrer adding six points. Port Byron’s Raelee McDowell led her team’s comeback, earning a game-high 21 points.
Early-week action did little to turn things around, Chittenango falling 61-38 to Fayetteville-Manlius in a game only made close by a late Bears surge after the Hornets built a 56-19 advantage in the first three quarters.
Scheidelman’s 17 points accounted for nearly half her team’s production. Sylstra got nine points as F-M was led by 23 points from Lydia Land-Steves along with 13 points from Jane Ryan and 11 points from Taylor Novack.
Then, in Thursday night’s 42-33 loss to Phoenix, much the same thing happened, Chittenango only making up ground late after a 40-22 margin was built up. Scheidelman got 12 points and Rohrer eight points as Lyla Duskee led the Firebirds with 20 points. The Bears meet Jordan-Elbridge and Westhill next week.
