Blackhawks snatch road win from Bobcats; Marauders downed by Mustangs

NEW BERLIN – The Lady Storm of Unadilla Valley jumped out to a quick start thanks to their five seniors Wednesday night. UV then saw five different players score in the fourth to hold off the second half really by the visiting Harpursville Hornets to capture the 48-35 Midstate Athletic Conference victory on senior night for the Storm.
Prior to the start of the contest, head coach Brandi Whitbeck honored her five seniors for 2019-2020 – Meegan White, Kyleigh George, Claire Converse, Kayla Christian and Alexis Buchanan – for the years of dedication to the program with hard work day in and day out.
Once the special recognition for the five was over, the Storm seniors got down to business as White started off the game with a left corner jumper. George followed up with her own bucket the next trip down the floor, hitting the shot from nearly the exact same location on the court.
George scored the next four points before White tallied her second bucket, taking the 10-4 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter of play.
Underclassman Kadence York of Unadilla Valley then got in on the scoring action, adding four points in the quarter before White capped off the stanza with one of two free throws.
To start the second, Harpursville’s Caidence Ryder knocked down back-to-back baseline jumpers for a 6-2 run. The scoring spurt brought the Hornets within four points but they were the only points that the visiting team registered in the stanza as the Storm brought the full-court pressure on.
The press caused chaos for the Hornets, turning the ball over several times and Unadilla Valley capitalized as they took a 26-13 lead into the locker room at the break.
The two teams each scored 22 points in the second half. UV did their damage from the floor with White leading the way with nine points in the half while George tallied six.
Harpursville went 7-for-14 at the free throw line and added 15 points on made shots. Ryder led the Hornets with a team-best 11 points for the game. Teammate Saleen Medovich chipped in nine points.
All five UV seniors scored at least a point on their special night. White led all players with 19 points and George also finished in double figures with 13 points. Christian scored three in the win, Buchanan ended with two and Converse added one point.
Converse did her work on the boards like she has all season, coming down with 12 rebounds. York also grabbed 12 boards off the glass.
“We came out on fire and then we settled in,” said Whitbeck. “We played well in spurts but I’m glad the seniors got a win on senior night.”
The Storm (8-9, 4-5) travel to Oxford at 7 p.m. Friday for the Blackhawks’ senior night.
Oxford 60, Bainbridge-Guilford 40
BAINRBIDGE – Four Lady Blackhawks finished in double figures, aiding in Oxford’s 60-40 Midstate Athletic Conference win over the host Bainbridge-Guilford Bobcats on Wednesday.
Madalyn Barrows recorded a game-high 22 points, scoring eight in the first quarter where Oxford was able to come away with the one point advantage.
Olivia Kelsey (10 points), Caitlyn Quigley (11) and Karley Miller (11) along with Barrows and Ryan came up big with their balanced scoring in the later quarters, when the Blackhawks were able to pull away from the Bobcats for the win.
Keeping the game close in the first half for B-G came from the balanced efforts of Macie Leizear and Celeste Baldwin as their flow from the 3-point line was on fire. The two combined for six made baskets from behind the arc in the first half with Baldwin sinking two and Leizear knocking down the other four.
The two teams were separated by just four points at the intermission but the four scorers for the Blackhawks took over to pull ahead by 11 with the final eight minutes remaining.
Unfortunately for Bainbridge-Guilford, Baldwin left in the third quarter with an injury. However, Taylor Parsons of the Bobcats stepped up to contribute seven of her nine points scored in the game in the last two quarters of play.
Leizear finished with a team-best 20 points in the loss, including four of B-G’s six points in the fourth.
Ellie Ryan of Oxford also chipped in six points.
Oxford hosts Unadilla Valley on Friday for their senior night game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. with the recognition taking place prior to the start of the contest.
Bainbridge-Guilford travels to Greene on Friday night for a 7:15 p.m. game.
Mount Markham 41, Sherburne-Earlville 33
WEST WINFIELD – The host Mustangs of Mount Markham controlled the glass, out-rebounding the Sherburne-Earlville Lady Marauders 45-28 and leading to the 41-33 non-league Wednesday.
Mount Markham handed S-E a 10 point deficit after the first quarter of play. As they have most of the season, Sherburne-Earlville looked for a way to climb out of the early hole.
The Marauders nearly outscored the Mustangs in the second but Mount Markham extended their advantage to 11 points at the intermission.
S-E cut the margin back to 10 points and were able to get the difference below double digits in the fourth quarter. However, the Marauders were unable to come any closer than eight points.
Tessa Cole finished with a game-high 17 points in the loss for Sherburne-Earlville while Elizabeth Peila nearly came away with a double-double, scoring eight and grabbing 11 rebounds. Jaci Wright added four points.
Mount Markham was led by Hayleigh Gates’ 11 points. Teammates Caitlyn Duncan and Caroline Entwistle each finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. Olivia Ostrander pulled down a game-high 13 boards in the Mustangs’ win.
Sherburne-Earlville hosts Holland Patent on Friday. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. as Holland Patent does not have a junior varsity team.