CNY Fall League Varsity Championship Day: Red Rams Roll (And More)

The Game

Jamesville-DeWitt 48, Norwich 32

In a championship game that featured a pair of perennially successful programs from neighboring sections, Jamesville-DeWitt came out of the gates firing on all cylinders. An early 18-1 run helped them seize control, and they were able to extend their cushion to 21 points by halftime. Red Ram returners Paige Keeler (2020), Gabby Stickle (2020), Andrea Sumida (2020), and Momo LaClair (2021) were instrumental in the hot start. They combined to score all 18 points in the early run, and when Norwich cut into the early deficit, Stickle & Keeler responded with consecutive threes – the 4^th & 5^th of the 1^st quarter for JD – to give them a 26-14 edge through 8 minutes. They turned it up defensively in the 2^nd quarter to effectively break it open, holding Norwich to 5 points in the period as LaClair scored 8 on her own to help push their lead to 40-19. With the lead at 20, the game went to running time for most of the 3^rd quarter, which drastically decreased the scoring output. Norwich responded well after halftime, turning up the pressure defensively and chipping their deficit, which was as much as 22, to 42-30 midway through the 4^th quarter. However, the early barrage was far too much for them to overcome, as they took their only loss of the fall in the league’s final game.

Keeler & LaClair led the way with 13 points apiece in the victory. Keeler scored all of hers in the first half, along with hitting 3 of Jamesville-DeWitt’s 7 first half threes, and LaClair scored 11 before intermission. Stickle joined them in double figures with 11, all in the 1^st quarter, and also hit 3 threes. Norwich 2020 Abby Flynn paced them in scoring with 8 points, and 2019 Taylor Hansen added 7 points.

Gabby Stickle knocked down 3 early threes and finished with 11 points in Jamesville-DeWitt's fall league championship game win.

The Thoughts

The fall league championship game, pitting 3-time defending NYSPHSAA Class A champion Jamesville-DeWitt against perennial Section 4 Class B contender Norwich, was a bit more lopsided than I had anticipated. However, the outcome was far less about Norwich flaws and much more an act of J-D firing on all cylinders and perhaps sending a bit of a preseason message. The Rams took a major hit from 2018 graduation, losing Meg Hair (Penn), Jamie Boeheim (Rochester), and Kasey Vaughan – all integral parts of the last three state championship teams. That being said, they return a handful of multi-year varsity players that have either been main pieces or played important minutes the last couple winters. The main four – Momo LaClair, Gabby Stickle, Paige Keeler, and Andrea Sumida – ran the show when it mattered in this game, combining to score 44 of the team’s 48 points and spearheading their defensive effort. Long story short, they’re still the real deal and will be for at least a couple years to come.

Returning 2020 Paige Keeler will likely be a major factor in Jamesville-DeWitt's success this winter.

Norwich was dominant in the fall league up to that point, being the only team that entered playoffs undefeated. As a coach, you play in a league like that to get those games. They may have run into a buzzsaw in this one, but they’ll be fine, to say the least. The Purple Tornado (singular), after years of being competitive but a step or two behind Seton Catholic & Susquehanna Valley teams that have secured 3 of the last 4 Class B state titles, has to be considered the early frontrunner in Section 4’s perennially competitive Class B field. They have plenty of the trademark Coach Bennett grit & toughness, but they also add a level of depth that most teams can’t match. They have seasoned leadership in 2019 Taylor Hansen and 2020s Halea Eaton & Abby Flynn, but they can legitimately go 8 deep without dropping off much (and possibly even beyond that). They had problems scoring in this particular game, but with their ability to get out & convert in transition, get to the line as a team, and create second-chance opportunities consistently, I don’t see that being an issue in the winter.

These two teams will be getting even more familiar with each other in coming weeks, as they have a preseason scrimmage scheduled. Look for both squads to be playing into March once again in the 2018-19 campaign.

Longtime Norwich standout Taylor Hansen will play a major key in their goals to advance out of Section 4 this winter.

The League

The CNY Fall League, based in the Syracuse area, completed its 5^th year on October 28. This year’s league featured three separate divisions. 

The varsity division included high school squads from Baldwinsville, General Brown (Watertown area), Ithaca, Jamesville-DeWitt, Norwich, and Seton Catholic (Binghamton), along with mixed/AAU squads representing the Syracuse Royals, Syracuse Nets, and CBA Syracuse/Liverpool. High school teams & mixed teams were split for playoffs; Syracuse Royals (Red) took home the mixed varsity championship.

The junior varsity division fielded teams representing Baldwinsville, General Brown, Ithaca, Jamesville-DeWitt, Sandy Creek, and Victor (Rochester area), along with mixed/AAU teams representing the Syracuse Royals, Syracuse Nets, and ‘Upstate Eat Wolf’, which featured many 7^th/8^th grade I-90 Elite players. Like the varsity division, high school & mixed teams were split for playoffs. Victor won the junior varsity school championship, and Syracuse Nets (Zona) took home the AAU team crown.

Oneida teammates Sydney Lusher (top) and Ella Rainbow, both 2021s, helped Syracuse Royals (Red) run to a varsity AAU division championship in the CNY Fall League.

The fall league also completed its second year of a ‘WNBA’ division, a separate varsity level league that consists of individual signups with teams mainly split up & constructed by the league’s directors. The WNBA division consisted of six teams with players representing the I-90 corridor east to Albany and west to Buffalo, along with the Southern Tier & Twin Tiers of NY. The ‘Atlanta Dream’, a team consisting of players mainly from the greater Buffalo region, ran the table in the division and took home the championship in a double-elimination playoff format.