By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Marianna Hodgins sent the opening tap into the front court.
Teammate Taryn Goodness grabbed the ball in the air. Without hesitation, the junior guard turned and with a pair of quick dribbles drove toward an opening. Denied a chance to get to the basket, Goodness found Georgia Wirth slashing through the lane.
The early attempt failed to produce points, but a clear message was sent: the Palmyra-Macedon girls’ basketball team was ready to attack.
A dozen possessions later, the Red Raiders had a 16-0 lead and were on their way to a 57-44 victory over host Our Lady of Mercy in non-league action, Friday night.
“We know that’s how we want to play,” said Pal-Mac head coach Dan Harris. “That’s been done to us by Waterloo and some other teams that we have played. We know what it takes to compete.”
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JEROME DAVIS.
Goodness led three in double figures with 18 points, and Pal-Mac fought off a third-quarter rally for its fourth straight double-digit victory.
The Red Raiders forced eight first-quarter turnovers and converted those opportunities into layups at the other end of the floor.
“We want to play in transition,” Harris said. “That’s how we play. I know that is fun for them. They enjoy the heck out of it. They’re great about finding each other and sharing the ball.”
The pressure didn’t stop there.
Goodness fed Hodgins for a bucket then closed the first half with an and-one and a 32-16 lead heading into the locker room.
Hodgins finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Wirth added 12 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. Ninth-grader Shelby Geer came off the bench and pumped in another seven points. Julia Belanger had four points and 10 rebounds for the Red Raiders.
Goodness rounded off her effort with eight steals, six rebounds and three assists. The younger sister of Ian and Paul – a pair of former 1,000-point scorers for the Pal-Mac boys’ squad, the youngest of the clan is finding her own way.
“Playing in the driveway and playing in the barn, you get beat up a little bit as the youngest will,” Harris said. “Her drive and her want to continue to improve, that’s best part about Taryn. She’s always asking ‘How do I get better? How do I get better?’ That’s hard to teach. In fact, you can’t teach it.”
Traditionally a small-school team, Pal-Mac is in Class A this season.
“We’re typically a Class B school,” Harris said. “To beat teams that are bigger than us, we got to get after people. We know we have to do that.”
Mercy’s Krista Harnischfeger scored eight in a 14-2 third-quarter run as the Monarchs (5-10) pulled within six points of the lead. Trailing 32-16, Harnischfeger buried a three from the top of the key. Laura Kosten followed with a runner in the lane. Harnischfeger converted a turnover into a layup and hit another triple. Mia Lusardi hit a pair of free throws to make it a 36-30 game.
“They had us back-pedaling in the second half the way they were knocking down shots,” Harris said.
The win was the 13th straight for Pal-Mac (14-1) which is ranked No. 6 in the most recent New York State Sportswriters Association (NYSSWA) poll.
“I count ‘em one at a time,” Harris said eschewing the streak. “It’s part of the reason we’re doing what we’re doing. You can’t look ahead. You don’t look back. One game at a time. We’re preparing for East now on Monday.”
The Red Raiders finish the season with three of their final five games against teams ranked in this week’s state poll.
“There is not an easy game for us,” Harris said. “We’ll be battle-tested. We’ll be ready for sectionals.”
After East (13-3), Pal-Mac gets Waterloo (10-7/No. 18 Class B), Penn Yan (2-13), Hornell (14-1/No. 1 Class B) and Newark (12-4/No. 23 Class A).
Pal-Mac is currently No. 2 in the unofficial Class A standings behind Pittsford Sutherland.
PALMYRA-MACEDON
Elise Tome 1 0-0 2, Shelby Geer 3 0-0 7, Julia Belanger 2 0-3 4, Taryn Goodness 7 1-1 18, Georgia 4 3-4 12, Marianna Hodgins 7 0-3 14 TOTALS — 24 4-11 57
OUR LADY OF MERCY
Krista Harnischfeger 5 0-0 12, Mia Lusardi 3 4-8 13, Brooke Wormley 4 0-0 11, Laura Kosten 1 1-2 3, Natalie Casale 1 0-0 3, Bridget Wise 0 0-0 0, Isabella Mitrano 0 0-0 0 TOTALS — 14 5-10 45
PALMYRA-MACEDON — 16 16 13 12 — 57
OUR LADY OF MERCY — 3 13 18 10 — 44
3-point goals — PALMYRA-MACEDON 5 (Geer 1, Goodness 3, Wirth 1); OUR LADY OF MERCY 9 (Harnischfeger 2, Lusardi 3, Wormley 3, Casale 1).
Thanks for the great write up.