Norwich tops Owego for third time; S-E beaten at own game

Girls’ Basketball

Norwich 58, Owego 47

NORWICH – Norwich opened defense of its Class A title with its third win of the season over Owego, although it was not an easy out for the Tornado.

“They are tough every time we play them, and we had a hard time defending them,” said Norwich coach Bob Branham.

A switch to straight man-to-man defense allowed Norwich to extend its two-point halftime lead to 10, although the repercussion was foul trouble to starters Kala Haltner and Kyra Collier.

In those two players’ sted, Brooke Abbott and Krissie Collier came off the bench to hit three balls, and Alicia Testani had five of her season-high 23 points.

And the sometimes ragged fourth quarters that have plagued NHS this season was not evident with the exception of two possessions. “I reminded them that all we needed was a solid defensive quarter, and with the exception of those two turnovers, we executed well on offense in the last quarter,” Branham said.

Melinda Moore added 13 points for Norwich (11-9), who play Maine-Endwell Friday at neutral site to be determined.

Owego: Olivia Young, 4 3-5-11; Allana Cerretai, 1 0-0-2; Missy Riley, 2 0-2-4; Kyla Knapp, 4 0-0-8; Jennifer Iler, 4 0-0-10; Hannah Souto, 0; Aubrey Gatto, ; Alicia Marhefka, 3 6-10-12; Erica Mallery, 0. Totals: 18 9-17-47 .

NHS: Brittany Cargill, 0; Alicia Testani, 7 6-10-23; Krissie Collier, 2 0-0-5; Emily Tackabury, 1 0-0-2; Melinda Moore, 6 0-0-13; Kyra Collier, 4 0-3-8; Brooke Abbott, 1 0-0-3; Kala Haltner, 2 0-0-4. Totals: 23 6-13-58.

Owego 13 14 7 13

NHS 15 14 15 14–58

Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (N) Testani 3, Collier, Abbott, (O) Iler. Officials: Ewing, Fletcher.

Cazenovia 58, Sherburne-Earlville 52

SHERBURNE – Coming off its best regular season in school history, Sherburne-Earlville was beaten at its own game by an up-tempo Cazenovia team in Tuesday’s Section III Class B playoff game.

The Lakers applied full-court pressure that created tentative ballhandling, and several times outran the quick Marauders for fast-break layups. “They definitely rattled us a little bit,” said S-E coach Jeff Barry.

The Lakers jetted to an 11-0 start in the third quarter to open up a 17-point lead. Two baskets came after offensive rebounds, and two came on fast breaks.

The Marauders still trailed 53-38 with 5:40 to play before closing the margin to 56-52 with 22 seconds remaining. Erin Dowdall hit two threes, Courtney Kurtz connected for five points, and Karli Harris had four points in the last quarter to lead the comeback effort, a surge that fell short.

“We felt the first five minutes of the second half would be the difference, and it was,” Barry said. “I’m really proud of the girls and the season they had. They showed a lot of heart in the fourth quarter.”

Kurtz led S-E (15-6) with 13 points, Harris had 10, while Dowdall and Adrienne Cross netted nine apiece.

Cazenovia: Taylor Malmsheimer, 0; Lindsay Smith, 0; Kiley Evans, 6 6-6-20; Kassie Kleine, 3 3-6-9; Maggie Dougherty, 2 0-0-4; Breanna Smith, 2 0-0-4; Audrey Dunne, 1 0-0-2; Molly Dougherty, 5 0-0-10; Carrie Stevens, 2 5-10-9. Totals: 21 14-22-58.