Cicero-North Syracuse enters the 2019-20 season with intense hunger and quite aware of the challenges ahead.

For the Northstars, the main task is simple – dislodge West Genesee and reclaim its place atop the area Class AA ranks. Having most of its roster back, including top forwards Jessica Cook and Julia Rowe, helps in that effort.

Knowing how consistent Cook and Rowe are in the paint, all of the C-NS players have said that, if it can find some consistent outside shooting, it could really be tough to beat.

All of those elements were on display for C-NS in last Thursday's opener, a 74-16 romp over Henninger that served as a tune-up for much tougher games on the weekend in the Albany area.

Up against Shenendehowa on Saturday afternoon, the Northstars met a severe challenge and could not get past it, falling 80-46 to the Plainsmen.

Cook gained 20 points and newcomer Alita Carey-Santagelo added 13 points, but Rowe was kept off the board and Shen was unstoppable in the first half, roaring to a 46-24 advantage.

Following that, C-NS challenged Class A powerhouse Averill Park on Sunday afternoon at Shen, AP had already defeated Jamesville-DeWitt the day before, avenging six straight defeats to the Red Rams in Class A regional finals dating back to 2014.

Not letting down at all, AP then beat the Northstars 54-42 behind 23 points from Anna Jankovic and 18 points from Kelsey Wood, meaning that C-NS was 1-2 with just its Tuesday game with Nottingham left before a trip to a large holiday national tournament in Arizona late this month.