How else could the Skaneateles girls basketball team’s 2013-14 season get characterized, other than that of extreme behavior?
First, the Lakers started 0-2, falling to Bishop Ludden and Westhill. Then it rattled off 10 straight victories, stating its case as a Section III Class B title contender.
But just as that happened, the bad results returned. An overtime defeat at sub-.500 Cazenovia on Jan. 23 was followed, last Tuesday night, by the Lakers going home and running into Hannibal, who rode Devin Sorrell’s hot performance to hand Skaneateles it second straight loss in a 54-44 decision.
These teams had first met Dec. 17, at Hannibal, and the Lakers prevailed 52-36, mostly containing Sorrell (who had 16 points) as Elizabeth Lane (21 points) and Joanna Dobrovosky (16 points) tore up the Warriors’ defense.
But in the rematch, Hannibal showed that it would hang around early, never letting Skaneateles out of its sights. By halftime, the Warriors had erased an early Laker lead, inching out in front, 22-21, going to the break.
For much of the second half, Skaneateles tried to figure out a way to stop Sorrell. Short of giving up baskets, they put Sorrell on the free-throw line, and the forward responded, sinking 11 foul shots by night’s end.
With a total of 29 points, Sorrell accounted for more than half of Hannibal’s offense, and it allowed her side to get clear in the final minutes, overcoming 17 points from Lane and 13 points from Nicole Beatson as Dobrovosky only managed six points, matching Sarah Tomlinson.
This defeat made the Lakers’ non-league game at Fulton far more important, if only to get the team back into a happier frame of mind – which it did by beating the Red Raiders 47-34.
Even here, Skaneateles trailed, 13-12, through one period before taking over in the game’s middle stages, outscoring Fulton 25-11 in the second and third quarters as its stifling defense took a toll on the Red Raiders.
On the offensive end, Lane did a bit of everything, getting 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. Dobrovosky also had 12 points, adding six rebounds and three blocks, while Molly Wood garnered a team-best 12 rebounds and also chimed in with nine points. Beatson produced 10 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists.
This put the Lakers at 11-4 with three games left in the regular season, all of them at home as it takes on Altmar-Parish-Williamstown Tuesday and East Syracuse-Minoa Thursday night before the Feb. 11 regular-season finale against Jordan-Elbridge.