Lady Red Devils Dominate Will North

It’s been a fantastic season so far for the Clarence High School girls basketball team. And the Red Devils hope it’s about to get better.

Clarence sits at 14-2 and is all ready for the home stretch in ECIC I – with a shot at the division championship in reach.

“We are happy but we still have four more games to go,” Red Devils coach Erin Booker said. “We have two big games coming up in the league. But we’ve been working and planning for it.”

The biggest of the four comes on Thursday as first-place Frontier comes to town. The Falcons beat Clarence 46-40 on Jan. 9 in Hamburg and rem ain undefeated in ECIC I play. Clarence can move into a tie for first place with a win in the rematch.

It’s a good season and we have some big games coming up,” said junior forward Ella Rose Eckert, the team’s leading scorer. “It was a close game last time against Frontier and we’re hoping to get a victory this time.”

There’s also a Feb. 14 game at division rival Orchard Park, a team that reached the Class AA title game last season. The Red Devils also have non-league games against Sweet Home and Williamsville East.

But the Red Devils are on a role, having won three straight ECIC I games against Jamestown, Clarence and Williamsville North – each victory coming by at least 17 points. Against rival Williamsville North, the Red Devils held a dominating 46-7 lead entering the fourth on Friday.

“It was a great game for everyone,” Eckert said. “Our main goal to get everyone involved and we did. Everyone that came in off the bench stepped up and contributed.

Eckert has averaged 14 points and 14 rebounds per game joins classmate Carly Reynolds (11.4 ppg., 8.7 rpg.) and senior Marist University soccer signee Anna Davies (5.8 ppg., 9.8 rpg.) to form an inside game as tough as anyone around.

Outside, Clarence has senior guards Lauren Cullinan (9.2 ppg) and Ali DiGulio (4.5 ppg) leading the way.

“I have tremendously talented athletes and they’re all doing well,” Booker said. “And we’re still looking to improve on things. We’re working on outside shooting and ball handling and reducing turnovers. Rebounding has been really solid all year and we want that to continue.”