Spartans Fall to Generals in Season Opener

Cayuga Community College Women's Basketball opened the season with a home loss to Herkimer College on Saturday.

The Spartans couldn't hold an early lead and struggled with turnovers, losing 63-39 to the Generals. Cayuga is on the road Thursday for their next contest, a Region III and Mid-State Athletic Conference game at Finger Lakes Community College.

Coach Jim Alberici said he was proud of the Spartans' effort and saw a lot to build on in their first contest of the 2023-24 season.

"We played an outstanding first quarter, played strong defense and knocked down some shots. In the second quarter, we got out of rhythm and didn't run our offense," he said. "But the effort was outstanding, and I saw a lot of other positives as well. It's a fine starting point for us."

Cayuga opened the game well, building a 15-13 lead through the first quarter thanks to a balanced attack and a strong defense that forced a handful of turnovers by the Generals. Herkimer took control in the second quarter, though, outscoring the Spartans 19-4 to take a 32-19 lead at the break.

The Spartans rebounded from the difficult second quarter to play stronger third and fourth quarters, but they were unable to cut into Herkimer's lead.

Haley Mosch and Lamontiona Johnson led the Spartans on the offensive end, scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively. Mosch had five rebounds and four steals, Johnson had four rebounds, Avrey Colton had seven points, five rebounds and five steals, and Lexi Alberici had five points and five rebounds.