Two of the top girls basketball teams in the state battled at Cicero-North Syracuse High School on Sunday afternoon, and Shenendehowa came away with a 62-54 win over the Northstars.
Brianna Carey and Kaleigh Montanez led the Plainsmen, the No. 2 team in the NYS Class AA poll, with 16 points and four 3-pointers, each. Shenendehowa scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to hold off C-NS' offense.
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"We battled back and hit some timely shots. I think that shows a lot about our team," Shenendehowa coach Joseph Murphy said. The Plainsmen suffered their first loss of the season to Bishop Kearney on Saturday before playing the Northstars. "We talked after that game, that that game shouldn't define us. It's what we do after that loss."
The No. 17 Northstars (6-2, 5-0 SCAC) and the Plainsmen of Section II played to three ties and shared the lead five times in the second half. Late in the fourth quarter, the teams traded 3-pointers on five consecutive possessions.
Shenendehowa hit five deep balls in the fourth quarter. The two squads combined for 37 points over the final eight minutes of the game.
"Cicero was answering," Murphy said. "Every time we hit a shot (C-NS) answered. It was a great up-and-down fourth quarter. But our girls, credit to them, they hit the shots."
Down by four points at halftime, the Northstars stayed in the game with Alita Carey-Santangelo's game-high 21 points. Alexa Kulakowski added 17, her eighth straight game this season with double-digit points.
"It definitely will help us going down the stretch to play a game like that," C-NS coach Rob Siechen said. "To get experience in tight games, what you have to do and how you have to execute."
Kathleen Taru provided the Northstars with six points, key rebounds and blocks off the bench. Siechen said C-NS played well defensively for most of the game and can learn from Sunday's outcome.
"We didn't fold. We came down and answered," Siechen said. "We haven't done that yet consistently and we did that for quite a few possessions in a row today, so that's good. That's going to be helpful for us."
Still the top team in Section III's SCAC Metro Division, C-NS will play next at Henninger on Tuesday.
