A special thank you goes to Visions Federal Credit Union for partnering with us to provide the greater Cortland County community with additional sports coverage
Cortland varsity girls basketball seniors from left to right: Valerosa Gambitta, Kendall Mack & Claire Turner. (Photo provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice).
The Cortland Lady Tigers celebrated a successful senior night with a 63-18 win over Norwich Friday night. With this win, Cortland improved to an overall record of 17-1.
According to the latest state rankings, Cortland is ranked 6th in Class A.
Three seniors (Valerosa Gambitta, Kendall Mack & Claire Turner) were celebrated at Friday night’s game.
“I thought it (the game) was great,” said Cortland head coach Janice Meyer. “Senior nights are always difficult for me. I always hate moving on. It seems like it gets tougher and tougher every year.
“They (the seniors) put us on the map,” added coach Meyer. “They set the bar, and they’ve been role models to what this program is about.”
Cortland dominated the game from the very beginning, as they were able to get a 24-14 lead at halftime.
The Lady Tigers did not let go off the gas pedal in the second half, as their defense held Norwich to a mere 4 points in the half, while their offense went on to score 39 points of their own.
Here is a score breakdown of the game:
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Cortland | 12 | 12 | 19 | 20 | 63 |
| Norwich | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 18 |
Cortland was led by Claire Turner (13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals & 2 blocks), Valerosa Gambitta (12 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists & 3 steals), Lily Yang (11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists & 1 steal), Kendall Mack (8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist & 2 steals), Aubree Larkin (7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists & 2 steals), Kartyr Hubbard (6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist & 1 steal), Katherine Harris (3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist & 1 steal), and Gabriella Brown (3 points & 2 rebounds).
Norwich was led by Josey Ryan (12 points), Emma Urgo (4 points), and Isabella DiIorio (2 points).
Cortland’s next game will be played at home against Skaneateles this upcoming Monday (February 12th) at 6:45pm.
After the game, The Cortland Voice interviewed all three seniors:
Thoughts on the game
Kendall Mack: “I think our energy was really good. I think we thrive off the energy from the stands.”
Valerosa Gambitta: “I think this is one of the best games we played as far as just coming out of the gate really strong.”
Claire Turner: “I thought we played really well. We were a little slow in the first quarter for maybe two minutes and then everything just clicked.”
A key takeaway from their senior year
Kendall Mack: “When my shots aren’t hitting, I need to stay out of my head and start driving to the basket”.
Valerosa Gambitta: Gambitta spoke on the team’s comeback after being down against New Hartford. “It definitely seemed like we weren’t going to win, but we were resilient ”.
Claire Turner: “A big moment was definitely losing to Indian River. It was an eye-opener as far as learning what we need to work on. “We’ve been working on things and we’re improving every day.”
Message to returning players
Kendall Mack: “Have fun. Enjoy your time. Try not to take it too seriously. Just have fun!”
Valerosa Gambitta: “Always remember to have fun, because that’s when you’ll play your best. You have to have a ‘next play’ mentality.”
Claire Turner: “It's just a game. You’re going to win. You’re going to lose. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
Here are some photos from Friday night’s game (Photos provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice):
A special thank you goes to Visions Federal Credit Union for partnering with us to provide the greater Cortland County community with additional sports coverage
