Bulldogs top Rangers in postseason action

Clare Kelly scores 22 points and Olmsted Falls defeats North Ridgeville, 58-57, in a Division I sectional semifinal.

North Ridgeville struggled to get going offensively in the second quarter, as leading scorer Isabella Geraci was held to only three points in the first half.

The third quarter was a different story, as Geraci scored eight of her team’s 18 points, cutting the deficit to one heading into the final period of play.

Olmsted Falls coach Jordan Eaton knew it was only a matter of time before Geraci would get going, even with a game plan built around stopping her.

“It’s crazy because we know exactly what she’s going to do and she still does it,” Eaton said.

Eaton felt part of the key to containing Geraci was a great defensive performance from freshman Danielle Stevens.

“To her credit and to our credit, it’s difficult to make that happen and we were asking a freshman to faceguard her for four quarters, so of course she’s going to get worn down a little bit. But she did a good job with that. She’s really hardnosed, goes after 50/50 balls and makes sure she comes up with it like 80 percent of the time.”

Both sides traded baskets early in the quarter, but Rachel Vance and Sarah Balfour made timely shots for the Bulldogs down the stretch.

Balfour scored 11 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Bulldogs pull away in the closing minutes.

“Sarah’s really good,” her coach said. “I thought she forced some things in the first half. North Ridgeville was at (a previous) game, where she just scored 32, so I had to tell her at halftime, ‘They’re expecting you, so you might just want to get your teammates involved first.’ Eventually it happened for her and there’s no doubt about it, that kid can flat-out score.

Down by seven with less than a minute to play, Geraci put the Rangers on her back, scoring six points in the final minute, including a 3-pointer as time expired.

Along with Geraci, Cianna Bright put up an impressive performance, posting a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

North Ridgeville (12-11) finishes the year with five more wins than the 2015-16 season and a strong core of underclassmen returning in 2017-18.