The Fredonia Lady ‘Billies gave Chautauqua Lake a battle on Tuesday morning in the non-league girls basketball opener of the invitational at Dunkirk High School, but the Lady Thunderbirds came out on top by a score of 46-37.

Erma Wolcott got the tournament going with a 3-pointer to put Chautauqua Lake (5-2) out front early. Fredonia (3-3) evened the score at 3-3 after a free-throw by Francesca Pucci and a layup by Ashlynn Delcamp.

Ava Olson gave Chautauqua Lake the lead back with 5:13 left in the first quarter, and the Lady Thunderbirds led the rest of the period.

“We play with a lot of resilience,” said Chautauqua Lake head coach Mike Putney.

Fredonia’s Sophia Gullo (22) delivers a bounce pass through the Chautauqua Lake defense during Tuesday’s non-league girls basketball game at Dunkirk High School. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen

In fact, even though the game remained within single digits the entire time, Chautauqua Lake never trailed in the contest and it held the lead for over 30 minutes of the game.

Fredonia got to within two points again at 9-7 later in the first quarter and to within three points twice in the second quarter. But to keep the momentum in the Lady Thunderbirds’ favor, Erma Wolcott beat the first half buzzer with a 3-pointer to close the half with Chautauqua Lake up by nine points, the largest lead of the game up to that point.

Fredonia responded with the first five points of the second half, cutting the Chautauqua Lake lead to 28-24 just over three minutes into the third quarter. Then, Bailey Wegrzynowski brought the Lady ‘Billies to within three, 32-29 with 1:20 left in the third quarter.

“The fact that they were able to dig deep and bust their butts to get down and stop them shows that they have a lot of heart and dedication to win this year,” said Fredonia head coach Brianne Davis.

But Wolcott again finished yet another quarter strong and back-to-back buckets extended the Chautauqua Lake lead back up to seven points, 36-29, headed to the final period.

Chautauqua Lake’s Ava Olson (2) defends an entry pass from Fredonia’s Bailey Wegrzynowski (23). OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen

“Our heart and soul, Erma Wolcott, she’s as tough as nails,” said Putney.

With three minutes left in the game, Fredonia cut the Chautauqua Lake lead to just four points once again, 41-37, but again the Lady Thunderbirds held strong and refused to relinquish the lead. Chautauqua Lake scored the final five points of the game to seal the victory.

Wolcott led Chautauqua Lake with 15 points, along with a team-high 6 assists and 3 rebounds. Natalie Gilkinson had 13 points and 6 rebounds, while Ava Olson had 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Taylor Donato added 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

“We pride ourselves in that,” said Putney of his team having three scorers in double figures. “It’s good for Natalie and Ava to be up there with Erma. It’s a nice, well-balanced team.”

Fredonia was led by Alana Holt with 7 points in the second quarter, along with 5 rebounds. She later left with a lower body injury. Jordan Lucas also had 6 points for Fredonia, while Delcamp and Sophia Gullo each had 5 points.

Chautauqua Lake’s Jada Cole (10) reads the Fredonia defense during Tuesday’s game. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen

Pucci added 8 rebounds and 3 steals for Fredonia, while Wegrzynowski and Jordan Lucas each had 5 rebounds. Ella Koopman had 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

“The fact that we were able to keep this game as close as we did with how good Chautauqua Lake is with their bigs and their guards is really impressive,” said Davis.

Nine players entered the game for Fredonia, and all nine players scored in the game. Keiliany Diaz, Makayla Tabone, Sarah Davis, and Gabriela Matos-Dominguez were not available to play.

“We had some players that don’t necessarily see key minutes step up. Francesca Pucci really stepped up for us today,” said Davis.

Both teams will be back in action at the Dunkirk Holiday Jamfest on Thursday. Chautauqua Lake takes on Cassadaga Valley at 9 a.m., while Fredonia faces Nichols at noon.

FREDONIA (37)

Lucas 3 0 6, Normand 1 0 2, Pucci 1 1 3, Delcamp 2 1 5, Koopman 2 0 4, Holt 3 0 7, Gullo 2 0 5, Wegrzynowski 2 0 4, Aponte 0 1 1. Totals 16 3 37.

CHAUTAUQUA LAKE (46)

Cole 0 0 0, Donato 2 0 5, Gates 0 0 0, Gilkinson 6 1 13, Olson 5 0 10, Putney 0 1 1, Riedesel 1 0 2, Wolcott 5 3 15, Zarpentine 0 0 0. Totals 19 5 46.

3-Point Goals–Wolcott 2, Donato, Holt, Gullo.

Fredonia 8 11 10 8 — 37

Chautauqua Lake 13 15 8 10 — 46