The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Falcons make run, but Pirates hold on
Firelands ousted in district semifinal; Bay advances
Falling behind early in their district semifinal against Rocky River, Firelands attempted to mount a secondhalf comeback that fell just short.
The Falcons fell to the Pirates for the second time this season, 57-49, and this time it ended their season.
Facing a full-court trap for much of the first half, Firelands struggled to get into halfcourt sets, turning the ball over 24 times. For Rocky River, the trap was about more than forcing turnovers, it was about rushing the Falcons into bad shots.
“Once we switched up defenses they did a great job up front really pressuring (their ballhandlers),” Rocky River head coach Elaine Robinson said. “Every time we switched our defenses we were communicating well and we knew where we were supposed to be.”
Firelands led once, 2-0, in the opening minutes of the game. They stayed close, but six- and eight-point deficits felt like 15-point leads, thanks to the frantic pace.
It was similar to the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 27. The Pirates used their athleticism to race away from Firelands in that game, while also outrebounding them.
Two things that also happened in this district semifinal meeting.
“It was deja vu all over again,” Kudela said. “Turnovers killed us and we missed some easy ones early that got us into a hurry too much. Give Rocky River credit. They kept us out of any kind of rhythm the entire game.”
It wasn’t until the third quarter that the Falcons offense finally settled in making a 10-0 run to pull within a point. Lorain County D-II player of the year Isabella Zvara scored five of her team-high 17 points on the run that also included Firelands make its first 3-pointer of the game, from Lexy Coggins.
The Pirates quickly answered that run with an 11-4 run of their own, that gave them a comfortable lead for the rest of the game.
Julia Potts led all scorers with 18, followed by Maria Potts with 12, and Sophia Murray with 11.
“Going into that fourth quarter, we all talked and said ‘they’re going to have a run and we’re going to have runs’,” Murray said. “We knew that defense was what was going to win this and I think Taylor (Spies), who is one of our best defenders, and I really fed into that
A year after getting knocked out in a sectional semifinal by Firelands, Rocky River now finds itself just a win away from winning the district. Up next is Great Lakes Conference foe, Bay. The Rockets topped Cloverleaf in the other district semifinal, and beat the Pirates in both meetings during the regular season.
For Firelands, the Falcons end their season as champions of the Lorain County League, with a solid base of underclassmen to build around. Including Zvara and Abbey Schmitz, who was one of three Falcons to average over 10 points a game this year.
“We had to limit turnovers and missed shots. You’ve got to be able to control every possession, and we didn’t do that,” Kudela said. “I know we’re young, but we’ve played 24 games this year. So you can’t use that as an excuse anymore. So we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and get
“We thought we were in control of the game. But that maybe it was starting to go a little sideways. So we felt that if we could come out and establish ourselves in the third quarter we’d be OK.” — Bay coach John Curran
better and work on some things over the summer to make sure that we can be back in this position next year.”
Bay advances
Leading by 10 points at halftime of their district semifinal against Cloverleaf, the Bay Rockets felt as if their lead could have been much bigger.
A full 16 minutes of game time later they held the Colts to five second-half points, earning a 54-20 win and a spot in their second consecutive district final.
“We challenged our team at halftime,” Bay head coach John Curran said. “We thought we were in control of the game. But that maybe it was starting to go a little sideways. So we felt that if we could come out and establish ourselves in the third quarter we’d be OK.”
Senior Haley Andrejcak and junior Julia Costas were key in executing a 16-0 run over the first seven minutes of the third quarter, before Cloverleaf scored their first basket with 10 ticks left on the clock.
It ended up being the
only Colts field goal in the final two quarters.
“When our defense is good it makes our offense good,” Costas said. “If we just play really hard on both ends it just makes the games so much easier.”
A stout Bay defense forced 30 turnovers that helped feed the Rockets’ offense with extra possessions they used to build up their massive second half lead.
“There’s a reason that these cliches exists,” Curran said. “Your defense generates your offense, and that showed in the third quarter with us getting breakaway layups and those sorts of things. We made it easy on ourselves.”
Bay continued to frustrate the Cloverleaf offense with multiple defensive looks, a 2-3 zone and a 1-3-1 zone, in the final quarter. It once again took the Colts three-plus minutes to put points up on the board.
Eight Rockets scored in the game, led by Costas’ 14. Andrejcak and fellow senior Barbara Aldridge each added nine, while Aldridge also set a new school record with her 57th 3-pointer of the season.
Up next for Bay is their third meeting of the year with Great Lakes Conference rival, Rocky River. The Rockets won both games against the Pirates during the regular season, but Curran has made sure his team knows how hard it is to beat someone three times in a row.