SKANEATELES - It may have been senior night for the Skaneateles girls basketball team but the night's biggest blows were dealt by the youngest player on the court.

With 2:14 left in the third quarter, the Lakers were in the midst of a 9-2 run and had cut Weedsport's lead to single digits for the first time since the first quarter.

With the momentum slipping away, Weedsport eighth grader Kaitlin Hammersley stepped up offensively, knocking down an outside jumper and a 3-pointer from the wing to kill the Lakers' rally and guide the Warriors to a 47-24 victory on Friday night.

“When I look at Kaitlin I see a lot of potential,” Weedsport coach John Anderson said. “When she plays with confidence she's going to do that. She can take over, she's done it before. For any eighth grader, it's all about confidence. (Skaneateles) left her open too. I guess they thought she was just an inside player and she stepped out and hit some open shots.”

The Warriors had scored a mere 65 points combined in their last two games, both losses. In the first half against Skaneateles, Weedsport had no trouble finding the net, scoring 25 first-half points as eight players made their way into the scoring column.

“The last week or two, we had been bunching up on offense,” Anderson said. “Tonight, we spread out and took advantage of the big court. When we pack it in on offense, we can't drive to the hoop as much as we did tonight.”

The scoring was evenly distributed in the first half but the Warriors came out of the halftime locker room cold.

After the Lakers' Caryn Crary converted a putback to cut the deficit to 27-18 late in the third, Hammersley took over the offensive reins. She scored nine of her game-high 15 points in the second half as Skaneateles failed to capitalize on open looks.

“Our goal (at halftime) was to cut the lead to under 10 points by the end of the third,” Skaneateles coach Bob Braunitzer said. “When we cut the lead to nine (points) we must have got the ball back six or seven times in a row and weren't able to convert. We either threw the ball away or missed our shots. If we make a few of those shots, maybe the lead is down to five or six.”

The Lakers shot the ball miserably all night. They were 1-for-7 from the free-throw line and 3-for-22 from behind the arc.

“We've been playing great,” Skaneateles coach Bob Braunitzer said. “But just look at our shooting percentage. That's what it comes down to. We even missed a bunch of inside shots. When we miss those we're in trouble... Tonight we couldn't hit an elephant in the butt with a snow shovel.”

The poor outing comes on the cusp of back-to-back wins where Skaneateles (6-14) played its best basketball of the season.

“Our shooting percentage has been really good, we've been rebounding really well and we've had a swarming defense,” Braunitzer said. “Tonight, none of things were happening for us.”

Weedsport junior Jessica Hoffman knocked down a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 run to open the game. Hoffman hit another three late in the second quarter to give the Warriors a 21-7 advantage.

Caryn Crary knocked down a three and Lauren Adams hit a jumper for Skaneateles to open the third quarter but the Lakers shooting woes ensued. After Hammersley's 3-pointer, Weedsport went on a 16-6 run to close the game.

Although the Weedsport offense was much improved, its defense was even better. The Warriors (12-7) forced the Lakers away from the paint and kept them off balance all evening.

“We just do what we do best,” Anderson said. “We get after people on defense. We're like flies, we want to be irritating. That's how we win games.”