Canton 43, Massena 36
Canton started off a busy week of games on Jan. 30 with a home matchup against Massena which had big implications in the divisional standings. The winner of the game would take third place in the division and put them only a half-game back of Malone. As has been the story for much of this season, Canton’s defensive efforts proved to be too much for Massena. The Bears held the Red Raiders to two points in the second quarter and nine points in the half. The Bears put together 17 points in the half with Ava Hoy leading the way with 10, four coming from Olivia White, two from Winnie Downs, and one from Vivian Coburn.
The Bears continued to dominate in the third quarter extending their lead from eight to 14 going into the fourth, but Massena wouldn’t quit. Through a hard-fought fourth quarter, the Raiders narrowed the lead down to just a four-point difference with two minutes left. But with the help of Canton’s defense and an impressive performance from Olivia White, who tallied 10 of her 14 points in the second half, the Bears managed to hold on despite Massena’s 19-point quarter.
Ava Hoy finished with 20 points while Hadley Alguire and Kallie Klassen both chipped in three points.
Canton 57, Potsdam 24
Canton’s second matchup of the week was another divisional matchup, this time on the road against Potsdam. The Bears came to play and tallied up 25 points in the first quarter and ended the first half with an impressive 48 points. With yet another strong defensive performance, they held the Sandstoners to two points in each quarter totaling four at the half. They went on to win the game 57-24 with a well distributed box score. Ava Hoy led with 16, followed by Klassen with 14, Coburn tallied eight, with Olivia White right behind her at seven, Alguire put up six, and Josie Gabriel came off the bench to contribute five.
“Our transition game was the best it has been all season,” Head Coach Jim DiSalvo noted. “We made some defensive adjustments going into the game which proved to be effective. It was a great team effort.”
With that win, Canton sits in third place in the central division, just a half-game behind second place Malone and two games behind division leader Gouverneur.
General Brown 57, Canton 34
The Bears finished off their busy week by heading to General Brown for a non-league matchup on a frigid Saturday. Canton stayed close at the start and found themselves only down four points after the first quarter. However, as one of the top ranked Class B teams in the state, General Brown pulled away. They held the Bears to four points in the second quarter and Canton struggled to come back. Their lead grew every quarter and Kori Nichols of General Brown put up 21 points to lead her team to a 57-34 win over the Bears. Josie Gabriel led the way for the Bears with 12 points, followed by Ava Hoy with 11, Francey and White both tallied four, and Klassen and Coburn contributed two points each.
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