The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Bulldogs dispatch Demons
Overcoming a secondhalf push by Westlake, Olmsted Falls carried big momentum into the fourth quarter and finished off the Demons, 67-41, on Dec. 12.
In a battle of the oneloss Southwestern Conference foes, it was the Bulldogs’ deep-range accuracy and extra passes that tamed Westlake and kept Olmsted Falls undefeated in SWC play.
Caught in a dogfight for most of the second quarter, Olmsted Falls finally found some separation before the half thanks to a quick 7-0 run while working in the bonus. Taking a 38-25 edge into the break, everything was going the Bulldogs’ way with 16 minutes of game left to be played.
Opening up the third quarter with a quick 3 by senior Shannon Carr off a feed from Clare Kelly, Olmsted Falls was quickly met by a zone defense and the quicktransitioning offense of the Demons was on display for a 12-0 run that finally forced a timeout by Bulldogs coach Jordan Eaton.
“We needed to slow down on offense and make sure we get back defensively just a little bit better,” OLMSTED FALLS 67, WESTLAKE 41
Eaton said of the timeout. “We had a 13-point lead when they started that run and they were playing zone and I don’t know why, but we started to play like we were down 13 and making some risky decisions early in the offense and taking quick shots.”
Storming back to cut the deficit to seven at 44-37 at the 4:15 mark of the third quarter, after Eaton’s timeout, Westlake did not connect the rest of the quarter as the Bulldogs punched right back and headed into the fourth on a 12-0 run of its own.
“We just needed to settle them down and understand that they have to come get us in this situation and they’re really, really good at transitioning and if you don’t get back, you saw what happened,” Eaton said. “All we said was settle down offensively and really sprint as hard as we can defensively and try and keep players in front of us.”
Finding a glimpse into what could slow the offensive machine that is Olmsted Falls, Westlake coach Karen Swanson Haan said she was happy with the way her team came out in the second half, but knows they needed to finish the job.
“We got some full-court looks for (Abby) Matalavage. We came out in the zone in the third quarter and it worked for us for a few minutes there and then we just couldn’t sustain it,” Swanson Haan said. “Honestly, they shot the lights out. We knew they were a good shooting team. We knew they were going to do that. We talked a lot about it defensively, and we didn’t have our best defensive effort of the season.”
While senior Kelly led the way for the Bulldogs with 22 points and six assists, it was the hard-working group around her that paved the way for the team win. Owning a teamfirst mentality and looking for the extra pass, Olmsted Falls found success as Carr added 14, sophomore Lauren Galaska had 11 and sophomore Grace Simon put up 10 off the bench with some hard minutes.
“We’re never relying on anybody and anyone can do anything they want, but the passing’s the most fun part to watch other than the shot going in,” Simon said. “We talked about it all week about how we’re working hard and we’re trying to match and then exceed the energy (of our opponent), and I think that was a key part of the win.”
As is the story with every Olmsted Falls win this season, passing and the outside scoring of the Bulldogs has been the underlying cause for success. Making 11 3s as a team, finding teammates in the right place is the biggest factor for success.
“I try to tell our girls all the time and they’re listening more and more, they’re really tough to guard when they share it,” Eaton said. “It’s really tough for teams to figure out where shots are going to come from and who’s going to take them and they’re all pretty capable of making them, so I was really proud of them for that.”