As far as the Liverpool girls basketball team’s interactions with Utica Proctor are concerned, they had a familiar theme – a quick start, but a quicker response by Brianna Kiesel and the Raiders. For the second time in as many weeks, the Warriors lost to Proctor, this time at home in a 67-59 decision where, again, Liverpool saw a double-digit lead slip away, only this process was more gradual. Back on Jan. 15, in the opening round of the Juggler Classic at SUNY-Utica Tech, Liverpool took a 14-point lead on Proctor into the fourth quarter, got 31 points from Ally Zywicki – and still lost, 67-64 because Kiesel, the Pittsburgh-bound senior, poured in most of her 40 points in that final period. In the sequel, Kiesel would finish with 32 points, 16 in each half, hitting on everything from pull-up jumpers to aggressive drives to the basket. Yet it was what Kiesel did in a matter of seconds late in the first half that turned the game around. The game was tight when Liverpool (8-4), down 21-20 in the second quarter, took off on a 15-2 run, led by Nicole Ciricillo and Nina Tassone, both of whom scored in double figures in the first half – Ciricillo 11 points, Tassone 10 points. Shannon Seymour also had eight of her 10 points in the first half. Down 35-22, Proctor again turned to Kiesel. In the closing 15 seconds of the half, she hit on a lay-up, made a steal and converted another basket, and snagged a second steal and nearly scored again. Liverpool still led 35-26 at the break, but that sequence had given the Raiders all the momentum it required. Gradually, the Warriors’ lead narrowed over the course of the second half, as Kiesel and her teammates stayed aggressive. Proctor finally pulled in front with key 3-pointers from Barrie Brooks and Jasmine Smallwood, the latter coming with 2:27 to play that gave the Raiders a 59-58 lead. That ignited a closing 11-1 run by the Raiders, which got further aid when Ciricillo, who finished with 13 points, fouled out with 2:08 left. Without her on the floor, the Warriors were unable to hit any late shots, while Kiesel put off another steal and lay-up and hit three free throws to put it away. Tassone had 14 points, but Zywicki could not replicate her hot streak from the week before, held to 10 points as Proctor’s defenders tailed her all game long. Brooks aided Kiesel as she finished with 15 points. As this went on, Liverpool’s boys basketball team went east to Utica Proctor and, like so many others, were unable to conquer the Raiders on its home court, taking a 63-46 defeat. Fresh off taking West Genesee to overtime earlier in the week, the Warriors took its aim at 8-1 Proctor, but was far off its game in the first half, all the time the Raiders needed to take charge. By the time they went to the locker room, Liverpool trailed, 36-16, and though its offense improved in the second half behind Ian Hamm’s 16 points and Adam Misener’s 11 points, it could not put a big dent into Proctor’s margin. Connor Rogers added eight points. The Raiders used depth and balance to prevail, as Maurice Mills and Jayson Jackson each put up 12 points and 10 different players recorded at least one field goal before it was done. Liverpool fell to 6-6 on the season.