Once at 0-4, the Liverpool girls basketball team may be starting to turn things around.
The Warriors earned its first win of the season Dec. 22, going to Central Square and prevailing 48-32 in the consolation game of the Traci Zimmer Memorial Tournament. A Liverpool attack that had sputtered through four consecutive defeats against tough opponents like Cicero-North Syracuse and Westhill finally sprung to life at Central Square, making lots of baskets in a 20-7 opening spurt. From there, the Warriors never caught, extending the lead on the Red Hawks over the next two periods until it was 45-18 at the start of the fourth quarter. Rachael Windhausen, for a while, was outscoring Central Square by herself. By the time she sat in the fourth quarter, Windhausen had 23 points, an effort that was required since no other Liverpool player had more than two field goals. Emma Geyer was next in line with just five points. In the first round on Dec. 21, Liverpool faced undefeated Class B power Westhill, and it was the other Warrior side taking charge in the middle stages and prevailing by a score of 58-38. Liverpool only trailed by two, 14-12, through one quarter. But in the next two periods, Westhill picked up pressure and shut Liverpool down for long pockets of time, outscoring them 32-14 over that period to get away. Windhausen picked up 13 points, while Emma Lamison and Katie Dalton got seven points apiece. Westhill’s three-pronged attack saw Anna Ross gain 19 points, Maggie Tripodi add 17 points and Sam Peebles finish with 13 points. From there, the Warriors ventured south, to Binghamton, during the holiday break for play in the Pete Hyde Tournament, which had its own up-and-down nature. In last Friday’s opening round, Liverpool lost, 53-27, to Maine-Endwell, and the format didn’t help. Instead of four eight-minute quarters, they played a pair of 16-minute halves, which gave Warriors head coach Mike Olley little chance to really let his players regroup. That was costly, since M-E already had a 33-12 lead by halftime, and it put the Warriors in permanent catch-up mode. It didn’t help that Windhausen was shut down, held to a single field goal after her Central Square effort. Geyer led with nine points, while Natalie Parkins had five points. Liverpool would bounce back in Saturday’s consolation game, though, edging Vestal 43-42 in a contest where neither side could make any sustained run and it proved suspenseful right to the final seconds. Windhausen stayed on the floor this time and got a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. More importantly, she received some help from Dalton, who earned 11 rebounds to go with her eight points. Drew Dufrane finished with seven points. Though it doesn’t have any league games this week, Liverpool gets a test Wednesday when it hosts Marcellus, who is 6-1 following its victory in the Mexico Holiday Tournament.