The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Rangers’ Geraci scores 1,000th point in win
Defense helps North Ridgeville end losing streak
It was a night three years in the making as North Ridgeville’s Izzy Geraci joined the 1,000 points club in a 4729 win over Lorain on Dec. 27.
Crossing off another milestone on a long list of accomplishments for the senior committed to play next fall at Cleveland State, Geraci became the third 1,000-point scorer in North Ridgeville girls basketball history.
Taking the ball up the court, Geraci handed the ball off to teammate Lauren Milner and cut behind the Titans defense for an open look while sitting at 999 career points. Milner tossed the ball over the heads of everyone on the court, except for Geraci.
As she caught the ball behind a wall of Lorain defenders, the defense quickly closed in, but not before she was able lob a soft layup to the top of the rim and waited as the ball seemingly sat on the rim for a moment before falling in for history. With the roar of the buzzer, the entire gymnasium took notice and applauded Geraci for the rare accomplishment.
“(When the second buzzer sounded) I was like ‘OK, this is really happening,’ ” Geraci
said. “I’m super excited. I kind of knew, but it was still a big ‘Oh my God, this is really happening’ moment like when I made the shot and my team came in. Everybody in the stands supported me, even girls from the other team. They were saying congrats and it was just a really, really great feeling.”
Getting to learn and grow under head coach Amy Esser, the night came as no surprise to Esser as Geraci has always been an excellent player who just loves basketball.
“She’s the type of player who’s a very humble person, even though it’s her 1,000th point night, she’s more worried about winning the game and it just goes to her character,” Esser said. “She’s a team player and we’re really happy she got to 1,000 points, but there’s so many other things she’s striving for that this is only one stepping stone to where she’s headed.”
Before the emotions of the big shot and the mini ceremony, the Rangers came out hungry and needing a win after a threegame losing streak.
Using defense as the main tool to stop the Titans early, the Rangers held Lorain without a field goal until 5:18 left in the second quarter. Preaching defense to her team, Esser said her team just came in with a defensive mindset.
“We came into this game with our focus on playing a good, quality defensive game throughout to get a win,” Esser said. “In the first quarter, they came out strong offensively and I thought our defense really pushed our offense, which we’ve really been lacking our last few games. So, I was really happy with how their progression was as the quarter went on and they kept with it for the whole game.”
Getting things going on offense, mainly by Geraci and her game-high 22 points, the Rangers opened the game up with a 16-0 run that buried the Titans early on and made life difficult as Lorain tried to climb back in.
Geraci’s teammates gave her strong sendoff with the win to remember one of the biggest night of her young career.
“We needed that win because we were losing and losing and finally this win I think is going to propel us into next year,” Geraci said. “We have the next half of the SWC schedule and I think it’s really going to help us out.”