CENTRAL NEW YORK – At different points in the last 10 years each of the West Genesee varsity basketball teams enjoyed championship runs, but rarely did so together, with the exception the 2018 sides that both reached state Class AA title games and the boys winning it all.
Now in 2025 the Wildcats aimed for a sweep of both Section III finals at SRC Arena, in each instance trying to turn back challenges from Nottingham.
Successful again on the boys side, WG leaned heavily on its defense to top Nottingham 54-38, the Wildcats holding the Bulldogs to just 30 percent (15-for-50) shooting to earn its 11th consecutive victory and second straight sectional title.
It marked the second Syracuse city opponent the Wildcats beat, having topped Henninger 58-49 in last Monday’s sectional semifinal to run its win streak to double digits.
Nottingham was next. During a hard-fought first half the Bulldogs went in front twice and, led by Daquan Williams’ 10 points, only trailed by one, 22-21, going to the break.
All the while, though, WG was establishing its defensive presence, rarely letting the Bulldogs operate in the open court and clamping down further on drives to the basket as the game wore on.
The payoff came in the second half. Nottingham went more than four minutes without a field goal while the Wildcats put together a 12-1 run, Aidan Phelan accumulating 10 of his team-high 17 points in the third quarter on his way to tournament MVP honors.
Up 46-28 early in the fourth quarter, WG saw that margin nearly cut in half by an 8-0 Nottingham run but weathered it and got clear for good in the closing minutes.
Kolton Castrello capped it off with five straight points to give him 16 for the afternoon. Chad Smith added 10 points and a team-best seven rebounds, earning a spot alongside Phelan on the All-Tournament team.
Just 24 hours later it was the girls Wildcats’ turn, but it could not quite match what the boys accomplished, falling to Nottingham in a tense 48-42 battle.
Having topped East Syracuse Minoa 48-38 in last Tuesday’s semifinal at Phoenix, WG knew an even better effort was needed against Nottingham, who didn’t even field a varsity team two years ago and went 3-15 last winter before a remarkable turnaround this season which included a 16-6 record and eight-game win streak going into the final.
Early on a frenetic, energetic pattern was set, Nottingham controlling the boards but the Wildcats countering it with an offense mostly carried by the duo of Bella Quinones and Jordyn Townes.
Between them, Townes accounted for all but five of WG’s points in a first half full of turnovers – 11 for each side. Neither led by more than four points and the Wildcats went into the break trailing 20-17.
They continued to go back and forth, but WG suffered a big setback when Quinones was whistled for her fourth foul late in the third quarter. It came right in the middle of an 11-0 Nottingham run which stretched into the final period.
Yet the Wildcats, down 39-31, almost made it back, cutting the margin to three only to have Quinones miss a possible tying 3-pointer with 1:20 to play. The Bulldogs then used free throws from Jah’nae Stevens and Kiley Cooper to put the game away.
Ultimately all the second and third chances Nottingham got at the rim did in the Wildcats. The Bulldogs had 50 rebounds to WG’s 22, most of them by Justyce Moore, who had 21 boards to go with her game-high 18 points.
Quinones, despite her foul trouble, still led WG with 15 points. Jordyn Townes added 10 points and five steals, while Mia Raymond had eight points. Alaina Dudzinski earned a team-high four assists.
This Saturday at 3 p.m. at SRC Arena WG’s boys team faces the Section II champions in the Class AA regional final with a berth in next week’s state final four on the line.
