Girls’ Basketball
Oneonta 53, Norwich 46
NORWICH – Norwich’s furious fourth-quarter comeback fell shy in its season-opening game Tuesday evening
Oneonta, the perennial defending Section IV Class B champions, stalled the Tornado’s momentum hitting five out of six free throws over the final 48 seconds. Division I recruit Mariah Ruff had three of those charity tosses to finish with a game-high 30 points.
After Norwich scored the first basket of the second half, Oneonta ripped off nine straight points to grab its biggest lead of the game, 37-21. Ruff, who had 20 in the first half, deferred to her teammates until the latter stages of the fourth quarter.
Brittany Herrick had five of the ‘Jackets’ points in the third quarter, and Oneonta cruised into the fourth quarter with a 40-27 lead.
Norwich chipped away at the deficit behind the scoring of Kassidy Seary and Breanna Cashman. Seary came off the bench to score eight of her 12 points in the fourth, and Cashman had six of her 14 in the final quarter.
Down 46-37, Seary scored on back-to-back sequences, and Shelby Benjamin canned a 15-footer from the right baseline drawing the host club to 46-43 with just under two minutes to play.
Oneonta answered two possessions later with four straight foul shots – two from Meg Burns and two from Ruff.
After Ruff, no other Oneonta player scored more than six points.
In the junior varsity contest, Norwich picked up a 37-24 win. Bridget Murphy scored 13 and Kara Evans 11 to lead NHS.
Oneonta: Abby Picinich, 0; Kendall Gillette, 0; Brie Baker, 3 0-0-6; Ceili Getman, 0; Meg Burns, 1 3-4-5; Rachel Wessells, 0 0-2-0; Mariah Ruff, 8 11-12-30; Brittney Herrick, 2 2-4-6; Maria DiMartin, 2 0-0-4; Gabby Richardson, 0 2-2-2; Madison Miller, 0. Totals: 16 18-24-53.
Norwich: Carin Kuhn, 2 0-0-5; Caitlyn Brown, 0; Breanna Cashman, 5 1-2-14; Alexis Race, 0; Jennifer Borfitz, 2 3-4-9; Kassidy Seary, 5 2-3-12; Makenzie Maynard, 0; Meghan Komendarek, 1 0-4-2; Ashley Murphy, 0; Savannah Williams, 0; Shelby Benjamin, 2 0-2-4; Courtney Scheer, 0. Totals: 17 6-15-46
OHS 11 17 12 13–53
NHS 11 8 8 19–46
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (N) Cashman 3, Borfitz 2, Kuhn. (O) Ruff 3. JV:  Norwich won 37-24. Officials: Reynolds, Dadamio.
Laurens 31, G-MU 29
COPES CORNERS – Down to Laurens most the game and trailing by 12 entering the second half, G-MU closed to within one point late in the fourth before falling for the third time in as many games.
Claire Frazier made a single free throw for Laurens with 15 seconds left for the final margin of victory.
G-MU did have its chances missing a 17-footer for the lead, while also failing to secure a pair of rebounds after missed Laurens free throws. “They beat us up a little bit in the first half, but it was a good comeback,” said G-MU coach Jim Johnson. “The defense stayed solid and we were able to get back into it.”
Meghan Meers scored 12 points to lead G-MU, and Makenzie Talbot added eight. G-MU plays at Edmeston Monday.
Laurens: Steph Jenkins, 0; Cassidy Barker, 0; Lindsey Lainge, 0; Taylor Kessler, 0 6-10-6; Courtney Sherry, 0; Amanda Cruz, 0; Claire Frazier, 0 1-2-1; Shalyn Tilley, 2 1-2-5; Charlotte Lee, 8 0-0-19. Totals: 10 8-14-31.
G-MU: Mackenzie Talbot, 3 2-5-8; Maggie Clune, 0; Tayler Nichols, 1 0-0-2; Meghan Meers, 5 2-4-12; Jenna Bakhuizen, 0; Christina Hawkins, 1 5-6-7; Kelsey Ross, 0 0-2-0 . Totals: 10 9-17-29.
Laur. 11 9 7 4–31
G-MU 5 3 8 13–29
Fouled out: none. Team fouls: (L) 18, (G) 13. Three-point goals: (L) Lee 3. JV: Laurens won. Officials: Palmer, Curtis.
Boys’ Basketball
