Tuesday Roundup: Lady Lions dominate, roll toward 5th straight win behind 71-24 home victory over C-R; Fri/Scio rallies back with clutch free throw to knock off B-R
*STORY BY JOHN ANDERSON/WELLSVILLE SUN*
WELLSVILLE — After a stunning 60-35 win over rival Hornell Saturday night, if there was any concern of a Wellsville girls' basketball letdown before a rematch with Bath, it was erased early Tuesday night against visiting Cuba-Rushford.
The Lions held Cuba-Rushford to single baskets in the second and third quarters on their way to a 71-24 victory.
Wellsville (11-2) will have a chance to avenge a loss on Tuesday at home against Bath.
Lady Lions senior Jaelyn Knapp had a game-high 16 points with four rebounds and shot a blistering 67% from the field. Senior guard Emily Costello also had a monster game, scoring 11 points to go with her 10 rebounds to complete a double-double, adding eight assists and four steals along the way. She found Knapp for eight points on layups.
"Jaelyn Knapp is a great player," Costello said. "She knows how to get open and always makes the right cuts at the right time," She knows where I like to pass it and lays it in perfectly every time."
Makenna Dunbar had 12 points and 10 rebounds to record a double-double of her own, while compiling three assists, two blocks and a steal to add in. Junior guard Emily Robbins, who had eight points and three rebounds, was impressed with the freshman. The duo have come off the bench all season on the Senior-heavy team to provide a spark.
"Makenna had a great game tonight, she is a great player," Robbins said. "She always looks for the best shots and lays them in. I think she contributes a lot to this team.
As for the defense, Costello said, "Our defense, I think that's the biggest perk to this team. We stress defense. Tonight we knew we needed to contain #23 and we did it with our help. We always know where we need to be.”
Robbins said she is looking forward to playing Bath at home with the student section and said "it's a good environment to play Bath in."
Costello said of this season, "This year has been the best year I've played. I have all of my friends with me, I have Em on the team this year who I played with forever. I feel like we've all ben waiting for our senior year to pop off and that's what we've been doing.”
Wellsville senior Jaylynn Mess had another strong game with 10 rebounds, four points and three assists while senior Kaylee Coleman had five points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal and junior Sara Reitz had five points. Unselfish Senior, Marley Adams had four points and five rebounds, while her freshman sister Natalie Adams outscored her with six. Each had two assists and something to joke about on the ride home.
For Cuba-Rushford, Taylor Searle had a team-high 11 points and Aleah Demick chipped in with 10. The Lady Rebels will return home tonight to host Genesee Valley/Belfast in a 7:30 p.m. contest.
Cuba-Rushford 10 2 2 10 – 24
Wellsville 13 14 18 26 – 71
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Cloey Larabee 1 0-0 2, Gabby Kranock 0 0-2 0, Aleah Demick 5 0-0 10, Taylor Searle 4 3-6 11, Destiny Darrin 0 1-4 1. Totals: 10 4-12 24.
WELLSVILLE: Marley Adams 2 0-2 4, Jaylynn Mess 2 0-0 4, Emily Costello 4 0-0 11, Jaelyn Knapp 8 0-0 16, Natalie Adams 3 0-0 6, Emily Robbins 3 0-0 8, Sara Reitz 2 0-0 5, Kaylee Coleman 2 1-2 5, Makenna Dunbar 6 0-0 12. Totals: 32 1-4 71.
3-point goals: Wellsville 6 (Costello 3, Robbins 2, Reitz).
Total Fouls: C-R 2, Wellsville 9. Fouled out: None.
Friendship/Scio 35, Bolivar-Richburg 33
BOLIVAR — It all came down to the final minute. After an enormous run exchanged by both teams along the way, Friendship/Scio and Bolivar-Richburg were step-by-step with one another. The smallest of details would begin to matter most.
For the visitors, it was the charity stripe, as Nevaeh Ross knocked down the most clutch free throw of the night, one that would pull her squad ahead of the host Lady Wolverines with less than a minute to go, hanging on for dear life until the final buzzer to exit town with the 35-33 victory on Tuesday.
“It was an ugly game, but we pulled it off,” said Friendship/Scio coach Ashleigh Lewis. “It was a rough first quarter, and you could tell that we came back and played after two weeks off. They came out with their press, but we managed to keep it under control for the most part. We had some heart, we started to attack and even though we didn’t really do a lot of good things, we locked it down and battled when the time came. It was a good way to come back.”
In the opening quarter, the Lady Wolverines took complete command with a 10-2 lead straight out of the gate, as a plethora of scorers all helped fuel the efforts inside. But soon, Ross began to heat up for Friendship/Scio (3-5) right before the half, as she scored nine of the team’s 11 points in the second quarter to help make up for lost time, and cut their deficit to four when the break approached.
That momentum would soon carry over after the half, as Kadence Donohue put on a second half show that ultimately helped become Friendship/Scio’s turning point, scoring all 13 of her points in the last 16 minutes of play to power a comeback win with Ross’ clutch free throw in crunch time providing the icing on top when the final buzzer sounded off.
Ross would finish with a game-high 14 points for Friendship/Scio to pair with four blocks. Kiara Grover and Claire Calhoun each came away with five rebounds off the glass.
For the Lady Wolverines (2-10), Kayli Giardini tallied 10 team-high points. Jessica Majot added in eight points of her own, while Destiny Cantrell and Carmen Crowley had five each.
Both teams are back on the hardwood Thursday night, with Friendship/Scio heading back on the road to visit undefeated Fillmore in a 7:30 p.m. battle, while Bolivar-Richburg looks for a bounce back with the Lady Bobcats of Hinsdale in town for a 6 p.m. contest.
Friendship/Scio 2 11 11 11 – 35
Bolivar-Richburg 10 7 2 14 – 33
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Nevaeh Ross 6 1-4 14, Sophie Bolzan 1 0-0 2, Kadence Donohue 6 0-2 13, Claire Calhoun 1 0-0 2, Melana Davenport 1 0-2 2, Kiara Grover 1 0-2 2. Totals: 16 1-10 35.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Nadia Baldwin 1 0-0 3, Raegan Giardini 1 0-1 2, Destiny Cantrell 2 1-2 5, Kayli Giardini 3 2-2 10, Carmen Crowley 2 1-2 5, Jessica Majot 4 0-0 8. Totals: 13 4-7 33.
3-point goals: F/S 2 (Ross, Donohue), B-R 3 (K. Giardini 2, Baldwin).
Total Fouls: F/S 10, B-R 8. Fouled out: R. Giardini (B-R).
Fillmore 44, Hinsdale 9
HINSDALE — Balanced scoring up and down the scorebook for the Lady Eagles of Fillmore keyed their way towards big success back on the road Tuesday night, as the efforts of Emma Cole and Hope Russell helped power up a 44-9 road win against the host Hinsdale Lady Bobcats to remain unbeaten on the season.
The Lady Eagles (12-0) would keep Hinsdale at bay across all 32 minutes of play, starting the night strong with a 14-3 run in the opening eight minutes. Cole and Russell would help in leading that effort, each recording at least 10 points for the Fillmore offense, with Cole netting a game-high 18 points to pair with 10 rebounds to complete a double-double.
Russell would follow with 11 of her own to pair with seven steals for the visitors in black and green, while Preslee Miller was dominant off the glass, grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds.
Hinsdale (0-7) was led by Sarah Tuttle, who tallied a team-high four points.
Both teams will return to action Thursday night, with Fillmore playing host to Friendship/Scio in a 7:30 p.m. battle, while Hinsdale hits the road to visit Bolivar-Richburg in a 6 p.m. tip-off of their own.
Fillmore 14 17 8 5 – 44
Hinsdale 3 2 2 2 – 9
FILLMORE: Hope Russell 5 0-0 11, Grace Russell 2 0-0 5, Jadyn Mucher 2 1-2 6, Emma Cole 9 0-0 18, Preslee Miller 0 2-4 2, Madi Geertman 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 3-6 44.
HINSDALE: Hannah Sutton 1 1-2 3, Fran Childs 1 0-0 2, Sarah Tuttle 2 0-0 4. Totals: 4 1-2 9.
3-point goals: Fillmore 3 (H. Russell, G. Russell, Mucher).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 3, Hinsdale 4. Fouled out: None.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Keshequa 45, Houghton Academy 42
NUNDA — The battle put on between both Houghton Academy and Keshequa on Tuesday was one that raced its way down toward the wire. Both teams were neck and neck with one another all the way to the end, leaving the decision-making down to the last eight minutes.
With Keshequa holding a three-point lead over the Panthers heading in, there was no better time to find a way to pull away, as the Indians dropped a massive 20-point fourth quarter upon Houghton Academy, as they bounced back from a first half deficit and grabbed the upper hand in the end to climb up top for the win in what was a close 45-42 decision on their home floor.
Houghton Academy (2-7) started their evening on the right foot with a first half lead of the Indians, with their three-point game clicking between both Hugo Huang and James Adenuga. Both Panthers shooters would combine to record five of the team’s six three-pointers in the opening 16 minute span, with Malachi DeGolyer adding one in along the way to jumpstart a 22-14 lead at the break.
In the second half, the deficit was cut down narrowly by the hosts in white and orange, as the Indians saw Bryce Flanagan bring his game to the table with 14 of his game-high 17 points all coming in the final two quarters of play. With his inside work clicking, the three-point game of the Indians would flare up alongside it, as Reese Powers and Tyler Mallaber combined for four big treys to power up a 20-10 fourth quarter run that would give them the lead ultimately until the end.
Adenuga led all Houghton Academy scorers with a team-high 16 points, while DeGolyer chipped in with 12 of his own. Huang would finish with seven points.
The Panthers are now off until Friday night, when they hit the road once more to battle the Cuba-Rushford Rebels in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
Houghton Academy 11 11 10 10 – 42
Keshequa 9 5 11 20 – 45
HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Hugo Huang 2 1-2 7, Chris Habecker 2 2-4 6, Malachi DeGolyer 4 2-3 12, Levi Martino 0 1-1 1, James Adenuga 6 1-2 16, Jack Prentice 0 0-1 0. Totals: 14 7-16 42.
KESHEQUA: Reese Powers 5 0-0 14, Tyler Mallaber 5 0-0 14, Jaiden Buchinger 0 0-2 0, Bryce Flanagan 7 3-9 17. Totals: 17 3-11 45.
3-point goals: HA 7 (Adenuga 3, Huang 2, DeGolyer 2), Keshequa 8 (Powers 4, Mallaber 4).
Total Fouls: HA 13, Keshequa 16. Fouled out: Huang (HA).
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Cuba-Rushford 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0
CUBA — It was a brilliant start from the beginning for the undefeated Rebels of Cuba-Rushford, Tuesday evening in the Wighthouse. The hosts grabbed a massive lead over visiting Genesee Valley/Belfast to set the tone almost immediately, and never looked back upon it, as they brought the brooms out for another sweep by a 25-10, 25-15, 25-15 count to move to 11-0.
Leading the way on the attack was Maddox Keller, who provided a team-high performance of seven kills, one assist and one ace from the service line. Helping further the cause on the frontlines was Nate Cole, who added in four more kills of his own to couple with three blocks and three more aces. Setter Allen Fuller dished out a whopping 17 assists to go with eight aces.
On the other side of the net, Sean Mahon led Genesee Valley/Belfast (1-9) with three team-high kills and one ace, while Alex McLaughlin followed with two kills and an ace.
Both teams are back in action on Thursday with a pair of 6 p.m. road contests, as Cuba-Rushford looks to push their unbeaten streak to 12 when they visit Arkport/Canaseraga, while Genesee Valley/Belfast heads to Wellsville to take on the host Lions.
