SYRACUSE – All season long the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse girls basketball teams worked on the assumption that their fates would hinge on what they did against one another with a Section III Class AAA championship on the line.
When it finally happened Sunday at SRC Arena it had all the intensity and passion one could expect, yet when it was done the Warriors still held the crown defeating the Northstars 51-45.
And Liverpool accomplished this without having its leading scorer, A’briyah Cunningham, for much of the game due to a a strained hamstring, including the entire fourth quarter. But her teammates stepped up and, by doing so, produced a third consecutive sectional title.
“Given the adversity we’ve gone through, the way these kids played was remarkable,” said Liverpool head coach Mike Wheeler.
So many meetings between the two sides erased any possibility of secrets or surprises, so it all rode on which team could perform better on a big stage with big stakes.
Early on it was all C-NS. Sharp defense on one end created plenty of chances on the other end and, with Leah Benedict producing seven points, the Northstars bolted out to a 13-2 lead.
Liverpool roared back and led by the middle of the second quarter, having put together a 14-0 run. It featured eighth-grade forward Gia Kinsey, who was out when the Northstars beat the Warriors in their last meeting on Feb. 15.
Kinsey’s nine points led her side in the first half, and the entire Liverpool defense frustrated C-NS, holding it without a field goal for nearly five minutes and forcing 11 turnovers in the first two periods.
Not only did the Northstars trail 28-24 at the break, it had to deal with two starters, Grace Villnave and Liv Cook, each holding three fouls, putting more responsibility on the rest of the team to stay aggressive and poised.
They went back and forth until early in the fourth quarter when C-NS inched in front 39-38 on Leah Benedict’s free throw, but it would prove to be the Northstars’ last lead of the game.
Again Liverpool turned to its defense, which shut out C-NS for five-plus minutes while gaining a 44-39 advantage anchored by Lyric Noel, who got a pair of blocks to go with four rebounds logging valuable minutes as Cunningham cheered her on from the sidelines.
Senior guard Gianna Washington said it was just a matter of isolating the Northstars’ ball-handlers and then hustling to the boards.
“We trapped a lot harder and rebounded well,” said Washington.
Work remained, though. When Benedict hit a 3-pointer with 21.9 seconds left the Northstars only trailed 48-45. But Washington hit a trio of free throws to seal it, overall going five-for-six at the line in the final minute.
Every time she went to the line, said Washington, she went to Cunningham, her best friend on the team, for support which helped her focus and relax. Wheeler said that Cunningham’s ability to accept her situation and still contribute.
“On the court (A’briyah) wasn’t helping us,” the coach said. “She could have pouted, but she was a great teammate.”
Those decisive free throws gave Washington a team-best 15 points, just ahead of Kinsey’s 14 points as Gracie Sleeth got 10 points and seven rebounds despite her own foul trouble. Angie Kohler picked up eight rebounds.
Benedict led all scorers with 20 points, but no other C-NS players reached double figures, Jilly Howell getting nine points and nine rebounds. Villnave had eight rebounds and Meadow Werts added seven rebounds.
Back at SRC Arena this Saturday at 1 p.m, Liverpool faces the Section II champions in the Class AAA regional final to see who gets to go to Troy’s Hudson Valley Community College for the March 22-23 state final four.
