Girls’ Basketball

Sherburne-Earlville 51, Ilion 45

SHERBURNE – Sherburne-Earlville weathered Ilion’s fourth-quarter comeback attempt to win its sixth straight game on Monday night.

The Bombers trailed S-E (6-1) 40-25 to start the fourth quarter. A pair of three balls by Christina Wright sparked the rally, and Amanda Alexander’s layup with 50.8 seconds left closed the gap to 47-45.

The Marauders’ Bridget Irwin hit a 15-foot shot that hit the back of the rim, bounced high, and swished through to answer Alexander’s bucket. Irwin then corralled a defensive rebound on the other end. Irwin was fouled and promptly canned two free throws to ice the game.

“I don’t think we were as patient as we needed to be on offense in the fourth quarter,” said S-E coach Karen Mulligan. “And they were able to beat our defense down the floor a couple of times.”

Caitlynn Adams scored 20 points, Irwin bucketed 17, and Kristi Vibbard 10 to account for all but four of the Marauders’ points.

Adams scored 16 of her points through the first three quarters, and added nine rebounds, seven steals, and four assists. Irwin had her sixth straight double-double pulling down 10 boards, while picking up four steals and four assists.

“We made the plays we needed to make, especially in the fourth quarter to withstand their run,” Mulligan said.