By John D'Onofrio
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal
LOCKPORT —
Dominating wins by cross-state powerhouse Shenendehowa and the Lockport Lady Lions sets the stag for a fantastic finish tonight in the 30th Kiwanis Girls Basketball Classic at Lockport High School.
Lady Lions senior forward Marisa Guyton did everything but hand out the souvenir T-shirts, scoring a game-high 28 points as Lockport beat Olean, 65-39 in the nightcap of two varsity contests Friday night. Shenendehowa was equally impressive in beating Lancaster, 71-51, in the varsity tournament opening game.
Guyton went into beast mode during warm-ups, then poured in 12 points in the first quarter, adding 11 more in the second for a career-best 23 points at halftime, as head coach Bill Shaw’s team cruised to their 14th victory in 17 games overall this winter season.
“It’s great the way we’ve come back from a tough loss to play so well,” said Guyton, referring to Lockport’s loss at Grand Island on Tuesday that gave the Niagara Frontier League title to the Lady Vikings for a second straight year.
“It felt good to play well again, but we’ll need to play well against Shenendehowa. I was very impressed with them. I saw shooters everywhere. And they’re fast.”
Senior Emma Sobieraski had 13 points and junior guard Alexis Cheatham added 11 for Lockport. Kaylee Pearl topped the Lady Huskies with nine points. Emily Bantelman added eight.
“I thought we played well in the first half,” Shaw said. “We moved the ball well and we moved well without the ball. I thought we were lazy an sloppy in the third. We’ll need to be a more consistent team to win (tonight).”
Shenendehowa senior all-everything Emily Weber was outstanding, scoring a game-high 29 points for Shenendehowa but super sophomore Mary Kate Cusack was also impressive with 24 points as head coach Ken Strube’s team moved the ball well throughout Friday’s win.
Weber and Cusack both hit four, 3-point buckets in the contest. Junior Alyssa Marsal added 12 for Shen (16-1).
The contest featured the return to the Lady Lions Den of former LHS junior varsity hoops coach Karen Catalano, now the Lady Redskins head coach. Catalano, a district guidance counselor, said the game was a good test for her team.
“It was exciting playing here. We hadn’t been truly tested, except for Jamestown, until tonight,” Catalano said. “They shot the lights out on us.”
Senior St. Bonaventure-bound center Katie Healy played a strong game for Lancaster, with a team-high 22 points. Sophomore Sarah Saba added 13. “Katie always plays well for us. She’s a house,” Catalano said.
There are four games in today’s Kiwanis Tournament finals. At 1 p.m., Grand Island meets Olean in the junior varsity consolation game, the JV title game at 2:30 pits Lockport against Lancaster, the varsity consolation game between Olean and Lancaster will begin at 6 p.m. and the varsity title contest between LHS and Shenendehowa is expected to begin at about 7:45 p.m.
• BOYS BASKETBALL
Lew-Port 52, Starpoint 43
PENDLETON — Nick Caso and J.D. Gara each scored seven points to lead 12 scorers for the Lancers (8-10). Andrew Rankie (12 points) and Stan Speaker (11 points) led the Spartans (1-17).
