The celebration was intense, and heartfelt. At the end of today's 52-37 victory over Baldwinsville in the Class AA sectional championship game, Cicero-North Syracuse players embraced, leapt about, and showed the joy of a team that had experienced three years of frustration. The Northstars, who dominated the section for eight seasons, watched as rival West Genesee took over from 2017-2019. But this year, C-NS was back. "This is just unbelievable," said junior Jessica Cook, who earned game MVP honors after scoring 20 points. "I've been on this team for four years. We lost to West Genny three years running. Every year we've gone home defeated. We finally put C-NS back on top and we finally proved that C-NS is what its always been - a hardworking program and a great group of kids."
The No. 2-seeded Northstars (17-6) advance to the state regional playoffs next Saturday against Section II champion Shenendehowa at 4:15 p.m. at Hudson Valley Community College. Baldwinsville, the tournament's No. 1 seed, finishes its season 20-2. After C-NS took a 15-9 first quarter lead on the strength of its 3-point shooting, the Bees came back to cut the Northstar lead to two points - 21-19 - midway through the quarter. But C-NS shooters found the range from distance again to give the Northstars a 32-21 lead at the half. The Bees got to within five points early in the third quarter, but they wouldn't get closer, as Cook scored 9 fourth-quarter points to keep Baldwinsville at bay. Though she earned the MVP award, Cook made it clear that it was a team effort. "Every team has a strategy against us, and I know sometimes I'm the focus," the 6-2 post player said. "But I have a great group around me that have always been there. I think tonight they really shined. It's not a one-person show and this game proved it. There are five girls out there that all performed amazing tonight." Julia Rowe and Alexandra Miller each added 10 points to the effort. Rowe hit a pair of 3-pointers, as did Miller, and junior Abbee Norris and senior Gabriela Hillman each drained one as the Northstars dropped six in the first half. C-NS coach Eric Smith said that when teams collapse on Cook, as they inevitably do, that opens other players up. "I tell everybody we have the best player in the league (Cook), and everybody has to make adjustments to guard her. That frees up people on the perimeter to shoot. Today they knocked them down," he said. Smith said the season has been a challenge for the Northstars, who have had various players out injured or sick throughout. "I've had one kid who's played in all of our games," he said. "The journey has been bumpy all the way through, but the kids stuck with it and it's very gratifying."
