CENTRAL NEW YORK – Neither the Marcellus nor the West Genesee girls basketball teams wanted to exit the Bishop Grimes Martin Luther King Jr. Tournament with 0-2 marks.
The two local sides met each other in last Monday’s consolation game, where top scoring duos met up and the Mustangs got the better of it defeating the short-handed Wildcats 61-41.
WG was without its leading scorer, Bella Quinones, who left the opening-round game, a 58-53 loss to Bishop Grimes, early and would not return here.
Even with that, the game was close early, Marcellus only gaining a 32-27 lead by halftime, but then the Mustangs’ defense shut down the Wildcats during a 14-5 third quarter which settled matters.
Tenly Baker augmented her 21 points with 13 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and four steals. Cece Powell landed 20 points and five steals, while Megan Frost had nine points and four rebounds. Samantha Buff added six rebounds.
Not able to completely make up for Quinones’ absence, the Wildcats only had Jordan Townes, with 19 points, hit double figures. Na’Deja Newkirk got nine points, all from a trio of 3-pointers, and no other WG player had more than one field goal.
Marcellus was much closer in its opening-round game against Baldwinsville. Fresh off beating Bishop Ludden on Jan. 16, where the Bees would hold off the Mustangs 62-58.
The Mustangs were hot out of the gate, grabbing a 23-15 lead by the end of the first quarter, only to have B’ville turn it around on both ends and go up 35-32 by halftime.
Increasing that lead early in the second half, the Bees then had to hang on late as Marcellus tried for another comeback, Powell working her total to 24 points and Baker earning 21 points as Buff earned eight poins.
B’ville held on, though, led by Maddy Polky’s 19 points and Natalie Hollingshead’s 16 points as they each hit on three 3-pointers. Capri Hartman, with 10 points, also hit double figures.
When it was WG’s turn against host Bishop Grimes, it proved close start to finish, but the Wildcats could not quite keep up in a 58-53 defeat to the Cobras.
Grimes had fallen from the top spot in the state Class B rankings after its Jan. 10 defeat to Ludden but was returned to the top spot last week and, against WG, stayed patient through a close, low-scoring first half.
Outscoring the Wildcats 19-14 in the third quarter, the Cobras held on. Despite this, Townes led with 18 points, Alaina Dudzinski adding 13 points and Marianna Leslie getting 10 points.
Marcellus moved on from the tournament to league action last Thursday night against Cortland, where its familiar formula emerged again in a 52-39 victory over the Purple Tigers.
Steadily gaining a 39-27 lead through three quarters, the Mustangs saw Powell put away 25 points and Baker earn 17 points, the pair combining to outscore Cortland by themselves as Megan Frost contributed five points.