Thursday Roundup: Behind season-high night from Adams, Lady Lions pull away late in fourth quarter to haul in 53-29 home win over C-R

Written By Chris Brooks

WELLSVILLE — The Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford found themselves down by 10 heading into the break after using a late second quarter run to dig out of a deficit the Lady Lions left behind throughout the first half. They were within reach, but Marley Adams took over the evening with her best performance of the season, taking control of the Wellsville offense to help garner enough distance to secure the victory by a 53-29 count to end their homestand strong.

“Marley might have had a career night tonight, but this was certainly her best game of the season so far,” said Lady Lions coach Michelle Alvord. “She played really well tonight to make that happen. The (Taylor) Searle girl for Cuba-Rushford is a really nice player as well. She does great things, and is really quick with her gameplay. We went up by 10, and she was there trying to cut it down when she could. Cuba-Rushford was right there in the second quarter and into the second half, but we were able to put some things together and pull away.”

Six straight points in the first 2:30 of the game started things off for the Lady Lions (5-2), with Adams recording four of those six points including being on the receiving end of a nicely established passing play that led to her basket underneath. But Searle and the Lady Rebels (1-6) found their way onto the board later on with seven of the next 11 points, netting the majority of the points to cut Wellsville’s early lead down to just three with under halfway to go in the first.

It would be a five-point lead for the Lady Lions going into the second, where it would grow even more to 12 with seven straight to the basket being found after Emily Costello started it off with some help at the charity stripe. Costello added onto it with a steal-turned-fastbreak lay-up, followed by back-to-back baskets down low by Adams and Kaylee Coleman.

The Lady Rebels offense would remain at a standstill, but with under three minutes in the half, that drought ended with Brynn Lavery netting basket of her own to jumpstart five consecutive points with an Ella Jaffe basket and Searle three-pointer. It would remain a 10-point edge remaining in Wellsville’s favor at the break.

In the second half, more of the same, but the Lady Lions would find away to keep Cuba-Rushford in the rearview mirror, garnering a lead by as much as 20 points to pull away for good.

Adams led the Wellsville offense with her best game of the season consisting of a game-high 24 points to go with her nine rebounds and seven steals. Costello followed behind with seven points. Jaelyn Knapp added in six points to pair with her six rebounds. Coleman led the rebounding department with 10 boards to go along with her five points, while Brooklyn Stisser chipped in with seven rebounds of her own, along with two assists and a steal.

For Cuba-Rushford, Searle led the offensive attack with a team-high 17 points, including three of the team’s four total three-pointers. Jaffe and Lillian Forward each totaled three points for the Lady Rebels, who now wait for their return to action coming up on Wednesday, as they return home to the Wighthouse to take on Bolivar-Richburg in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Prior to the Varsity contest, the Lady Lions defeated the Lady Rebels by a 64-16 count, with Harmony Brantley and Makenna Dunbar recording 11 team-high points respectively. Makenna Dunbar added in 10 points of her own.

Up next for the Lady Lions is a road trip to Cattaraugus County, as they prepare for a 12:30 p.m. matchup with the Olean Lady Huskies -a team that snuck out of Wellsville with a 47-42 victory, last season.

“Olean is a big game for us, just because of the competition level,” Alvord said. “They returned basically everyone from last year’s team, and we lost to them close last season. We definitely want to go over there and play well, and pick up some big Sectional points. They’re really balanced, athletic, and they have three girls that can really score. We can’t really key on one player. It’s just a matter of focusing hard on some team defense to get those stops.”

Cuba-Rushford 9 8 8 4 – 29

Wellsville 14 13 12 14 – 53

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Lillian Forward 1 0-0 3, Brynn Lavery 1 0-0 2, Ella Jaffe 1 1-2 3, Macie Demick 1 0-4 2, Taylor Searle 7 0-2 17, Elysa Tylor 0 1-2 1, Tara Duvall 0 1-2 1. Totals: 11 3-12 29.
WELLSVILLE: Marley Adams 11 2-2 24, Jaylynn Mess 2 0-0 4, Emily Costello 3 1-2 7, Jaelyn Knapp 2 2-2 6, Brooklyn Stisser 2 0-0 4, Emily Robbins 1 0-0 3, Kaylee Coleman 2 1-2 5. Totals: 23 6-8 53.

3-point goals: C-R 4 (Searle 3, Forward), Wellsville 1 (Robbins).
Total Fouls: C-R 9, Wellsville 11. Fouled out: None.

Whitesville 80, Genesee Valley 36

WHITESVILLE — The Lady Blue Jays of Whitesville are the only team that has yet to fall to the hands of defeat this season. Scoring five straight victories to begin, as well as multiple 40-point games from their superstar sophomore Vanessa Hall, they added another first to that list when they returned to action Thursday night.

Back home, they scored their biggest game of the season, as they recorded 80 points with Hall leading the charge for Whitesville with a game-high 33 points, as a balanced Lady Jays squad remained unbeaten with an 80-36 victory over visiting Genesee Valley for their sixth consecutive victory.

Along with the offense, the special teams play down low for the Lady Jays (6-0) was off the charts successful, with four different scorers combining to record 42 rebounds against the Lady Jaguars. After a 10-point advantage started their night in the first quarter, the hosts in white and blue built upon it while holding Genesee Valley (1-5) to just four points in the midst of their 19-4 second quarter run that kept momentum rolling into the second half.

Hall was one of three different Lady Jays that scored double digits on offense, as she posted 18 rebounds to complete her double-double. Kennedy Bledsoe and Gabbi Hall both also recorded their best games of the season in addition, with Bledsoe tallying a season-high 20 points to go with 12 rebounds in her double-double, while Hall chipped in with 10 points, six boards and four assists. Aislinn Hamilton added in six more rebounds to finish off the special teams department.

Genesee Valley was led by a team-high 14-point performance from Sierra Burrows. Emera Aquila totaled 11 points, while Adison Grusendorf had seven points of her own to add in.

Both teams are back in action Saturday afternoon, with Whitesville going for their seventh straight victory with the Andover Lady Panthers in town for a 2:30 p.m. visit, while Genesee Valley looks to get back on track with a road trip to Scio in store for 1 p.m.

Genesee Valley 12 4 10 10 – 36

Whitesville 22 19 16 23 – 80

GENESEE VALLEY: Adison Grusendorf 3 0-1 7, Emera Aquila 5 0-3 11, Sierra Burrows 6 0-2 14, Kayci Bigelow 0 1-2 1, Ashley Burrows 1 1-2 3. Totals: 15 2-10 36.
WHITESVILLE: Kennedy Bledsoe 8 4-5 20, Rachel Jackson 2 0-0 6, Serena Ainsworth 2 1-2 5, Vanessa Hall 11 10-14 33, Aislinn Hamilton 1 0-0 2, Gabbi Hall 5 0-0 10, Serina Button 1 0-0 2, Brynn Scholl 1 0-0 2. Totals: 31 15-21 80.

3-point goals: GV 4 (S. Burrows 2, Grusenford, Aquila), Whitesville 3 (Jackson 2, Hall).
Total Fouls: GV 17, Whitesville 12. Fouled out: None.

Friendship 40, Scio 21

FRIENDSHIP — The Lady Golden Eagles of Friendship saw their three-point game come to life in their season sweep of visiting Scio on Thursday, as Kadence Donohue launched four of the team’s seven three-pointers in her game-high 12 point performance to help seal up a 40-21 victory over the Lady Tigers to go back up to .500.

Friendship (3-3) used a fast eight minutes right out of the gate to take the lead on the Lady Tigers, as they strung together their biggest quarter of offense while holding Scio to just a single basket from the field in their 17-3 run to establish an early lead that they managed to hang on until the end.

Helping the cause behind Donohue, was both Nevaeh Ross and Logan Roberts, as they both netted eight points. Aaliyah Harmon chipped in with seven. For Scio (0-8), Alexis Crossley led the way with six team-high points, while Camryn Wiech followed with five.

Both teams are back on the floor Saturday afternoon with a pair of 1 p.m. contests, with Friendship traveling to Belfast to face the Lady Bulldogs, while Scio heads back home to welcome in Genesee Valley.

Scio 3 4 7 7 – 21

Friendship 17 4 12 7 – 40

SCIO: Alexis Crossley 3 0-0 6, Camryn Wiech 2 1-2 5, Emily Stilson 2 0-2 4, Celina Warboys 0 0-2 0, Melana Davenport 1 0-0 2, Kiara Grover 1 2-4 4. Totals: 9 3-10 21.
FRIENDSHIP: Nevaeh Ross 4 0-0 8, Logan Roberts 3 0-0 8, Claire Calhoun 1 0-0 2, Kadence Donohue 4 0-0 12, Caitlin Stewart 1 0-0 3, Aaliyah Harmon 3 1-1 7. Totals: 16 1-1 40.
3-point goals: Friendship 7 (Donohue 4, Roberts 2, Stewart).
Total Fouls: Scio 4, Friendship 10. Fouled out: None.

Bolivar-Richburg 37, Andover 8

BOLIVAR — A strong first half of basketball was all the Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg needed to mesh together with their superb showing of defense, as they held visiting Andover to just eight points on offense while capitalizing on their 37-8 victory to capture a second straight winning season for head coach Justin Thomas, Thursday night.

“This is something that we can keep building on,” said Thomas. “Seven games in, we’re looking at Sectionals. This is what our mantra will be, and you can’t be upset with the defense we put up tonight. Hopefully this will help us keep peaking as we head into the final week of action. If we can click at the right time, there is some momentum that can stay, and stay, and stay heading into the tournament.”

The Lady Wolverines (5-2), on top of dominating on the offensive and defensive fronts, also took to the special teams department, where four different Lady Wolverines combined for 33 rebounds off the glass with Kelsey Pacer falling just a point shy from a double-double, concluding with a game-high nine points to go with her 12 boards. Aliyah Cole had eight points and eight rebounds, while Madigan Harris recorded six points to go with eight more boards and four steals.

Bolivar-Richburg started the night with an 18-5 lead across the first half of play, including a 10-2 run that would ultimately set the tone for the rest of the game.

Andover (3-5) would see Kelsie Niedermaier and Gabby Terhune lead the way with three points. Livia Simon had the last two points to add on a basket inside.

Both teams are back in action over the road Saturday afternoon, as the Lady Wolverines will pay an early morning visit to Fillmore in an 11:30 a.m. contest inside The Rock, while Andover looks to get back on track by visiting the Lady Jays of Whitesville at 2:30 p.m.

Andover 2 3 1 2 – 8

Bolivar-Richburg 10 8 11 8 – 37

ANDOVER: Gabby Terhune 1 1-2 3, Katie Calladine 0 0-2 0, Livia Simon 1 0-2 2, Kelsie Niedermaier 1 1-2 3, Brynn Hunt 0 0-2 0. Totals: 3 2-10 8.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: McKinlee Harris 2 0-0 4, Madigan Harris 2 1-2 6, Kelsey Pacer 3 1-4 9, Trinidy Miller 1 0-0 2, Kayli Giardini 1 0-0 2, Aliyah Cole 4 0-1 8, Jianna Nix 2 0-0 4, Jessica Majot 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 2-7 37.
3-point goals: B-R 3 (Pacer 2, Ma. Harris).
Total Fouls: Andover 8, B-R 11. Fouled out: None.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Scio 58, Hinsdale 56

HINSDALE — Scio and Hinsdale were engaged in a contest that was suspended once before with the Tigers taking the double digit lead. But when play resumed on Thursday, a big third quarter was built by the Bobcats that allowed them to jump ahead heading into the fourth quarter.

But the Tigers have senior Cam Loucks to thank for allowing them to jump back into the lead. Trailing by as much as six with 90 seconds left, the Scio senior did what he did best and put the game on his back, bringing his team back into the lead and for good to pick up the 58-56 victory over the Bobcats.

Loucks finished with a big game-high 39 points to lead the Tigers (4-2), who held a 30-19 lead heading into the break. But the Bobcats restarted where the game left off just seconds into the third quarter, and accounted for their biggest frame of action of the night — a 24-11 run of the Tigers led by the guidance of Zach Byrne and Cody Barton who combined for 16 of the 24 points for Hinsdale within the frame, each scoring eight.

It would result in a 44-41 lead for the Bobcats (1-4), and would increase by as much as six, but that would be erased by the Tigers in the last eight minutes of play, as they took the lead back with a late comeback.

Brendan Loucks finished with 13 points for the Tigers, while Nate Ford rounded off the lineup with the last four points. On the other side, Byrne totaled a team-high 21 points to lead the Bobcats. Barton finished with 11 points, while Ethan Cashimere and Parker Keenan each had nine points.

Both teams will wrap up the home-at-home series in Scio tonight at 6 p.m.

Scio 18 12 11 17 – 58

Hinsdale 14 5 24 13 – 56

SCIO: Brendan Loucks 4 7-9 13, Nate Ford 2 0-0 4, Cam Loucks 13 11-17 39. Totals: 19 18-26 58.
HINSDALE: Zach Byrne 9 0-0 21, Ethan Cashimere 4 0-0 9, Sam Cashimere 2 0-0 4, Parker Keenan 3 0-0 9, Jeff Rossman 1 0-0 2, Cody Barton 5 1-2 11. Totals: 24 2-3 56.
3-point goals: Scio 2 (C. Loucks), Hinsdale 6 (Byrne 3, Keenan 3).
Total Fouls: Scio 7, Hinsdale 20. Fouled out: None.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Wellsville 3, Bolivar-Richburg 1

WELLSVILLE — The hot streak belonging to the Wellsville Lions continued onward Thursday night, in the start of their home-at-home series with the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines, as they overcame a second set defeat to dominate the final two sets, taking the match victory in four to remain unbeaten (25-9, 20-25, 25-7, 25-12).

Walker Waldon led the way with eight aces from the service line to go with his seven kills on offense, and three denials for the Lions (6-0). Mason Parks added in four more kills to go with four aces, and one dig. Setter Matt Bittel dished out 15 assists to pair with his six aces, and one kill.

Bolivar-Richburg did not provide statistics upon publication.

The Lions and Wolverines will finish off the series in Richburg tonight at 6 p.m.

Chris Brooks
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