On Thursday, February 13, 2025, Fayetteville-Manlius High School continued the yearly tradition of hosting a Pink Out basketball game. The goal of the event each year is to raise a large amount of money to help reach F-M’s Dance Marathon goal and raise awareness for cancer. As both matches went on, their opponent turned out to be a particularly tough one to face, but students, parents, and community members still showed up in powerful numbers to support the Hornets boys’ and girls’ basketball teams.
As a personal mission for the team, the F-M basketball players wanted to unite their community and help support those affected by cancer. They achieved this mission by selling Pink Out t-shirts in the weeks before the game and wearing warm up shirts displaying the names of several loved ones to honor those affected by cancer.
Despite putting up a good effort, the Hornets were defeated by West Genesee in both games with the score for the boys’ game ending 55-36 and the girls’ game ending 65-62.
The F-M girls team went first and lost in a tough overtime game against West Genesee. The Hornets played hard and kept the game close, but they fell just short in the end, losing 65-62. Both teams played strong defense, making it difficult for either side to pull ahead by much. West Genesee was led by Isabella Quinones, who scored 22 points, including two three-pointers and four free throws. Alaina Dudzinski also had a strong performance, contributing 19 points, while Jordyn Townes added 16. F-M stayed competitive with Taylor Novack, who led all scorers with 24 points, including four three-pointers and eight free throws and Lydia Land-Steves who also had a big game, scoring 21 points. In overtime, West Genesee was able to hit their free throws and make a couple of clutch shots to pull ahead. Even though F-M lost, they fought hard until the final buzzer and showed plenty of determination throughout the game.
In the boys’ game, West Genesee’s defense was able to limit the Hornets to just four points in the first and third quarters. This became a big problem for F-M. West Genesee also was able to control the game on offense as Kolton Castrello scored 19 points, while Aidan Phelan and Liam Kelly added 13 and 11, respectively. The Hornets were able to see some success, however, as both Boomer Kuss and Charlie Schroder each managed to score nine points for F-M.
Although the Hornets did lose in the end, the F-M community came out to back their team in large numbers and show overwhelming support for the team’s cause. The student section was packed with students wearing their pink shirts, and they were constantly loud and proud throughout the game. Even with the team losing, the night became a time when students showed huge school pride and fully represented the school’s mission to raise substantially large amounts of money for such a meaningful cause.
