Saturday Roundup: Lady Lions utilize 3rd quarter to pull away from Avoca-Prattsburgh in series-clinching rebound; GV/Belfast boys win 4th straight, cling to victory over Titans

PRATTSBURGH — It’s been a long lay-off for the Lady Lions of Wellsville, with Saturday afternoon marking the first time in eight days that they last saw the court. Despite Hornell getting the best of them at the Dan Barkley Showcase last weekend, the Lady Lions were looking to build off a dynamic performance in that contest to work their way back into the win column once again.

The opponent at hand this time around, was Avoca-Prattsburgh for the second time in three contests. The Lady Lions had to overcome a slight disadvantage in the opening quarter of play to start the afternoon off. But once they got their wheels spinning, they were tough to slow down.

The second half was evidence of that.

They escaped towards victory following a massive run in the fourth quarter in their previous matchup at Alfred University right before the Barkley Showcase. On Saturday, they did it again, this time to open the second half. Behind the assembly of yet masterful phenomenal performance from their senior leader, Makenna Dunbar, the Lady Lions went full bore on offense to pull away from Avoca-Prattsburgh, bulldozing their way towards a 49-36 road win in Prattsburgh.

A 7-3 lead for Wellsville (11-3) in the opening stages was foiled by a strong finish from the Lady Titans, as their offense rebounded and delivered a big quarter-ending punch with nine of the last 11 points going in their favor to take the lead. But the Lady Lions reversed course and went right back to the grind in the second quarter to reclaim the lead that they proceeded to never lose again, finishing off the second quarter with a 14-7 run of the Lady Titans.

To cement their advantage even further, the Lady Lions held Avoca-Prattsburgh at a near-standstill in the third quarter, constructing a 14-4 run to occupy both ends of the floor with full control in the third quarter. Makenna Dunbar had a big role in the offense’s success from start to finish, as she put together a game-high 25-point performance to go with 10 rebounds, completing a massive double-double.

Emily Stuck chipped in with 10 points of her own to go with eight rebounds. Natalie Adams recorded eight points, while Caelyn Stevens furthered the special teams game with eight more rebounds off the glass.

Avoca-Prattsburgh was paced by a team-leading 14-point effort from Meyah Putnam.

In the JV contest earlier in the afternoon, the Lady Lions were able to set up the road sweep of the Lady Titans with a 48-32 victory behind a strong 14-point performance from Lexi Coleman.

The Lady Lions are back on their home floor Tuesday night, hosting the Pioneer Lady Panthers in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

Wellsville 9 14 14 12 – 49

Avoca-Prattsburgh 12 7 4 13 – 36

WELLSVILLE: Caelyn Stevens 0 2-2 2, Natalie Adams 3 0-0 8, Emily Stuck 5 0-2 10, Makenna Dunbar 9 6-8 25, Jaden Dunbar 2 0-0 4. Totals: 19 8-12 49.

AVOCA-PRATTSBURGH: D'Mariannah Hinson-Pike 1 0-0 3, Meyah Putnam 3 7-11 14, Breanna Jorritsma 3 0-2 7, Evelyn Travis 4 0-0 9, Alydia McIntyre 1 0-0 3. Totals: 12 7-13 36.

3-point goals: Wellsville 3 (Adams 2, M. Dunbar), A-P 5 (Hinson-Pike, Putnam, Jorritsma, Travis, McIntyre).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 13, A-P 12. Fouled out: None.

Lyons 54, Canisteo-Greenwood 46

CANISTEO — In the second game of their back-to-back set, the Lady Chargers of Canisteo-Greenwood returned home to the valley on Saturday, where three different runs across the first three quarters of play against the Lyons Lady Lions laid down the foundation for the final outcome in the last eight minutes of play.

WIth the Lady Chargers holstering the momentum coming out of the break after falling behind early, they looked to put it to full use in the last 16 minute session. But Lyons had other plans in store for the afternoon, as they came out swinging with a run of all runs to keep Canisteo-Greenwood at bay, completing a boisterous comeback to finish the game on top with a 54-46 road victory.

The Lady Chargers (9-6) fell under the spell of the Lady Lions across the vast majority of time in the opening quarter, with Lyons posting 10 of the first 12 points before the hosts provided a late surge to trim their deficit back down to two possessions when time expired. In the second quarter, Canisteo-Greenwood was on the move, netting 10 consecutive points to claim their first lead of the game.

It was a 25-17 halftime advantage they held onto, but in the second half, Lyons turned everything upside down. After they procured a 10-point advantage at the start of the half, the Lady Chargers were held frozen solid on offense. With a 30-25 lead on the scoreboard in favor of the hosts, the Lady Lions flipped the script and finished the half with 12 of the last 15 points in the final three minutes to break away out of reach.

MacKenna Mullen led all scorers for Canisteo-Greenwood with a team-high 14 points. Bailey Mullen was a rebound shy of scoring a double-double, garnering 13 points to go with nine boards. Paris May and Harlie McCaffery each had eight points, while Anna Mitchell had the team’s remaining three points to add into the mix.

The Lady Chargers are now off until Thursday night, as they return to their home hardwood in the valley with a 7:15 p.m. visit from Arkport-Canaseraga.

Lyons 12 5 20 17 – 54

Canisteo-Greenwood 6 19 8 13 – 46

LYONS: Kamryn Bonnell 5 0-0 14, Car'Mella Parker 3 3-8 10, Niyah Bell 4 1-7 9, Jayla Bell 5 5-10 18, Areyanna Carter 1 1-2 3. Totals: 18 10-27 54.

CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Bailey Mullen 4 5-8 13, MacKenna Mullen 4 5-6 14, Paris May 2 3-6 8, Anna Mitchell 1 1-4 3, Harlie McCaffery 1 6-10 8. Totals: 12 20-34 46.

3-point goals: Lyons 8 (Bonnell 4, J. Bell 3, Parker), C-G 2 (M. Mullen, May).
Total Fouls: Lyons 22, C-G 21. Fouled out: None.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Genesee Valley/Belfast 73, Avoca-Prattsburgh 63

AVOCA — A rapid return to action for the Genesee Valley/Belfast boys was most certainly not going to stop them from slowing down. Saturday afternoon, they hit the road for a matinee at Avoca-Prattsburgh, where a tough fight against the host Titans was had.

Despite a late first quarter resurgence from Avoca-Prattsburgh to close the frame, Genesee Valley/Belfast was able to find their rhythm to close out the first half and entering the third quarter, as the duo of Kenton Shultz and Ian McKenzie aided in illuminating the way towards glory at the end of battle, scoring their fourth consecutive victory in a 73-63 final tally over the Titans.

A back-and-forth exchange between the two foes emerged in the early-going, with Genesee Valley/Belfast (8-5) working their way out ahead behind a stellar first quarter from Shultz, who posted 11 of his team-high 22 points within the frame. Despite the push towards the lead, the Titans responded with an even stronger finish of their own, concluding the frame with 11 of the last 13 points — including a long three from Austin Swift with 15 seconds remaining to grant a 21-19 lead.

The advantage continued to change hands through the second quarter between both teams once again, with the pillar-to-post baskets charting its course towards a 30-30 tie, ultimately being broken by the Titans with a quick 5-0 run before it turned back into Genesee Valley/Belfast’s favor with six of the final eight points tilting back their way to close the halftime gap to a single possession.

In the third quarter, the visitors in black raced off on the Titans with a fiery 9-0 jaunt, with Ian McKenzie helping lead the efforts with a 10-point stanza. The advantage would not hold much longer approaching halfway, as the Titans made up lost ground rapidly with six unanswered points to re-tie the game back up at 45 on each side.

After Genesee Valley/Belfast was able to close the book with a 56-51 lead in hand, they would have to survive one final back-and-forth duel in the early stages of the final eight minutes before finding the smoothest of grooves to travel upon past halfway. At that particular juncture, the visitors went on to bucket nine of the next 12 points, with Cane Treusdell knocking down a monstrous triple before inside buckets from Ian McKenzie gave them plenty of room to work with going down the stretch.

Genesee Valley would go on to use a 4-for-6 outing at the charity stripe to help solidify their victory — their fourth in a row following their Barkley Showcase win over Arkport-Canaseraga, last weekend.

Following Shultz on the scoresheet was McKenzie, who concluded with 21 points. Treusdell went on to glue together a 13-point effort, while Ethan Davenport had 12 points.

Avoca-Prattsburgh was powered by a heroic game-high 34 points from JJ Crowder.

Genesee Valley/Belfast is back home Tuesday night, as they return to the Jungle in Belmont to play host to the Honeoye Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 19 17 20 17 – 73

Avoca-Prattsburgh 21 18 12 12 – 63

GV/BELFAST: Cane Treusdell 5 0-4 13, Cal Tallman 2 0-0 4, Ian McKenzie 8 3-4 21, Brayden Cooper 0 1-2 1, Ethan Davenport 4 3-4 12, Kenton Shultz 9 3-6 22. Totals: 28 10-20 73.

AVOCA-PRATTSBURGH: Landon White 1 0-1 2, JJ Crowder 13 6-8 34, Austin Swift 1 0-0 3, Carter Button 4 0-0 9, Colin Zurlick 3 0-0 7, Connor Parulski 4 0-2 8. Totals: 26 6-11 63.

3-point goals: GVB 7 (Treusdell 3, McKenzie 2, Davenport, Shultz), A-P 7 (Crowder 4, Swift, Button, Zurlick).
Total Fouls: GVB 12, A-P 18. Fouled out: Zurlick (A-P).