EAST SYRACUSE – Few teams in the history of Section III playoff competition have ever faced what the Bishop Grimes girls basketball team did Thursday night in the Class B quarterfinals against Clinton.
The occasion, and the 52-27 victory by the Cobras, should have evoked smiles and celebration. Instead it only seemed to add to the immense sadness already present in the building.
Earlier that day, the Syracuse Diocese announced that Bishop Grimes would close at the end of the school year, confirming rumors which had swirled around the school all week.
In an instant, the last home game of the season was now the last home game for any Grimes basketball team, which provoked hours of meetings among the players and coaches and a visit from school principal and former basketball player Allyson Headd.
Both then, and in the immediate lead-up to the game, players cried, but quickly regrouped so that they could go out and try to continue a special season which has included two stints atop the state Class B rankings.
Grimes held Clinton to just four points in the first quarter and grabbed a comfortable lead. Hot shooting the rest of the half produced a 35-14 halftime edge and the Comets only managed three points in the third period.
Sophomore Riley Abernethy led the offense with 17 points. Sicily Shaffer gained 13 points, while Kierra Baxter and Aaliyah Zachery earned seven points apiece.
As the clock ran out, Grimes players were joined by students on the floor to celebrate the win, but the night was far from over.
Once the court was cleared, each of the players was given a rose by athletic director Bob McKenney, and the emotions mostly held in check for a couple of hours emerged again with tears in the eyes of teenagers and adults alike.
A “Let’s Go Cobras!” chant began, but even when it faded out and the players left the court many fans stayed for up to an hour, processing the day’s events and not wanting to leave when the future for so many was uncertain.
None of this was public knowledge back on Monday night when top-seeded Grimes beat no. 16 seed Syracuse Academy of Science 59-35.
Steady production on one end and consistent defense on the other allowed Grimes to control the game from the outset, eventually building a 45-21 lead through three periods.
Abernethy had her best game of the season, pouring in 18 points to lead the Cobras as Zachery finished with 13 points and Shaffer got 10 points.
The next step, after beating Clinton, is the sectional Class B semifinal against no. 4 seed Little Falls at Sandy Creek High School early next week. Win this, and Grimes would get to the March 9 sectional final at SRC Arena against Marcellus or General Brown, with everyone ever associated with the school wanting to see this story end in as triumphant a manner as possible.
