CENTRAL NEW YORK – With their regular seasons mostly complete, area high school girls basketball teams rested, practiced and got ready for the Section III playoffs when snow didn’t get in the way.
Expected to be Utica Notre Dame’s main challenger in Class A, Jamesville-DeWitt bounced back from a Feb. 15 defeat to Nottingham last Wednesday by defeating Westhill 48-37.
They were even until a second quarter where the Red Rams went on a 15-5 spurt. Westhill spent the rest of the game chasing a J-D side led again by Ava Sandroni, who had 14 points. Lindsay Parker, Sadie Withers and Maggie Bliss all helped with eight points apiece.
Fayetteville-Manlius, who had shown some late-season spark with wins over Bishop Ludden and West Genesee, got close last Wednesday against defending sectional Class A champion Indian River, but lost 50-42 to the Wolves.
Most of the game was tight, with the Hornets trailing 29-20 at halftime but making up ground in the third quarter before IR held F-M to seven points in the final period.
Taylor Novack led the Hornets with 15 points. Lydia Land-Steves was held to six points, which Jane Ryan matched. Allison LaMora gave the Wolves 14 points and 17 rebounds as Keera LaLonde got 16 points and two others, Kallie Delles and Lillian Walsh, earned 10 points apiece.
Neither F-M nor J-D had to play in the opening weekend of the Section III playoffs, with the Hornets the no. 6 seed in Class AAA bound for a quarterfinal against no. 3 seed Baldwinsville Wednesday with the winner to meet no. 2 seed Cicero-North Syracuse in the semifinals.
J-D held the no. 2 seed in Class A, and on Wednesday the Red Rams face no. 10 seed Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m.
Christian Brothers Academy saw playoff action Friday and the Brothers, as the no. 4 seed in Class A on the opposite end of the bracket as J-D, easily handled no. 13 seed Homer 57-37 in its opening-round test.
Nearly perfect at the outset, CBA jumped all over the Trojans on both ends and had a 23-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. Homer did regroup and cut the margin to 34-21 by halftime, but the Brothers pulled away again in the second half to earn a quarterfinal date with defending champion Indian River.
Cara Macaluso and Liana Thomas led the CBA attack, each of them finishing with 16 points. Mari Catherine Giamartino earned seven points, with Juliette Zimmerman adding six points.
Bishop Grimes did snare the top seed in Class B as the Cobras, who were twice atop the state rankings at different points this season, meets no. 16 seed Syracuse Academy of Science Monday to see who would face Clinton in the quarterfinals.
East Syracuse Minoa with the no. 5 seed in Class AA has its quarterfinal against no. 5 seed Central Square.
