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The Blue Devils were held to 9 first-quarter points, but responded by outscoring the Wolverines by 18 in the second half.

With the win, defending state champion Moravia is now 2-0 versus ranked Class C opponents and sits at 12-2 this season. Weedsport falls to 14-3.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's game:

Second-half response

Coming into Tuesday the Wolverines were allowing just 34.1 points per game, which ranked first in Section III, Class C. After building a 14-9 first-quarter lead against the Blue Devils, Weedsport looked to be on its way to another strong defensive performance. But Moravia bounced back in the third quarter to overwhelm its host.

Caraline Wasileski led the charge for the Blue Devils coming out of halftime. She scored 9 of her 17 points in the third quarter and several of her game-high 13 rebounds were offensive, giving her and her team crucial second-chance opportunities. Though Moravia tends to be undersized, Wasileski believes her team's physicality has helped compensate, especially on the glass. 

"I guessed a lot of (our) shots (were) going long, so I kept trying to play them over," she told ÈËÊÞÐÔ½». "It's hard for us to rebound because we are a shorter team, so it is me and my other big. But it's definitely encouraging when we get an (offensive) rebound, because (other teams) put their heads down."

Along with Wasileski, Jessalyn Jones came up big for Moravia late in the game. The senior scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the second half.

Head coach John Crossgrove credited the win in part to how the duo attacked the Wolverines' defense.

"(Jones and Wasileski) are two strong, physical girls," he told ÈËÊÞÐÔ½». "Jessalyn might be a little shy and anxious as far as height, but she's strong. They were able to finish in tight, tough, physical situations and that really helped us. Those two really led the way, (and) that was a big stretch."

Taming the Wolverines 

While having the best defense in Section III, Class C, the Wolverines also own the highest scoring offense at 61.4 points a game. Up until its meeting with the Blue Devils, Weedsport had only been held under 50 points once all season — which came in a 44-41 loss to No. 19-ranked Union Springs in the 51st annual Cayuga County Holiday Basketball Tournament championship.

Kayla Flask and Mallory Brown did the bulk of the damage against the Blue Devils in the first half Tuesday, as the pair combined for 18 of their team's 26 points. 

Moravia's defense responded in the third quarter by surrendering just 6 total points. Wasileski said the biggest change to the team's defense was getting on the same page. 

"(The Wolverines) were cutting and moving, and we had trouble rotating," she said. "But we figured out how they cut, so then we were able to figure out how to rotate."

Moravia would go on to outscore Weedsport 36-20 in the second half to take home its ninth straight win.

Due to the defensive intensity the Wolverines threw at the Blue Devils, Crossgrove said it was one of his team's toughest matchups of the season. But he believes its attitude helped it pull out the victory.

"In the first half, I'm not sure how we stayed in it," he said.

"The girls have a lot of courage, gets them into trouble sometimes when you're not afraid to try some things you probably shouldn't. They're kind of ornery (and) they're OK being grumpy. They're good with that, and they were grumpy about the way things were going. I think that's how we stayed in there. It wasn't necessarily good basketball, but just one of toughness."

Adding to the resume

Prior to Tuesday, Moravia's one win over a state-ranked opponent came on Jan. 14 against Union Springs.

Like they did against the Wolverines, the Blue Devils shut down the Wolves in the third quarter, allowing just 7 points in that stretch on the way to a 54-44 win. 

Despite dealing with injuries and illnesses, Moravia's defense has made it difficult for any of its opponents to dominate offensively for a full 32 minutes. Since their 60-53 loss against Candor on Dec. 20, when they were shorthanded, the Blue Devils have not given up more than 50 points.

As the regular season comes to a close, Moravia's defense will have another test against a state-ranked opponent when it takes on Union Springs again on Tuesday at home.