The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Olmsted Falls wins another SWC title
Olmsted Falls’ dominant run in the Southwestern Conference continues for another year.
For the sixth straight season, the Bulldogs are conference champions. They earned at least a share of the title following a 60-37 road victory at Amherst on Feb. 7.
After losing its first SWC game since 2020 to Avon Lake on Jan. 14, Olmsted Falls (18-3, 12-1 SWC) hosts the Shoregals next on Feb. 10 with a chance to get revenge and win the conference outright. A strong performance against the Comets (10-10, 6-7 SWC) before that game is a nice confidence builder.
“I think that our team is locked in on playing as hard as they possibly can,” Olmsted Falls coach Jordan Eaton said. “When we do that together, I think it gives us a really good chance to win. A lot of players stepped up tonight in a lot of different ways. Some scored, some rebounded, we defended very well.”
Amherst came out ready to play on its home floor and led by one after one quarter. Kristen Kelley finished with a team-high 13 points and got off to a strong start with seven of them coming in the opening frame. However, Olmsted Falls has the ability to turn the switch and quickly take a game over.
The Bulldogs play a lot of players, and they all can shoot it and like to push the tempo as much as possible. Not only are they a tough out because they’re so talented, but this particular game presents a bad matchup for Amherst. The Comets don’t play nearly the amount of players as Olmsted Falls, and it started to catch up with them starting in the second quarter.
“We were gassed,” Amherst coach John Rositano said. “We’re playing six girls and they’re playing nine or 10, it takes its toll. There are stretches where fatigue sets in and we do casual things. It’s hard, it really is. Sometimes, you’re playing with one hand behind your back.”
If you had told Rositano before the game that Amherst held Danielle Cameron to 13 points, he would take it every single time.
Cameron is one of the best players in the area for good reason, but another factor of the Bulldogs’ depth is that they have more than one player who can score at any given time.
In this game, it was sophomore Jesse Simon. She started the second quarter with a bucket to give Olmsted Falls a lead that it would never relinquish.
Simon scored again after a steal by Cameron, and later knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the lead to eight. She scored 16 of the team’s first 22 points on the way to scoring a game-high 21 points.
“It’s really rewarding just to know how much work we’ve put in this season,” Simon said of the Bulldogs’ SWC title. “Just to have
those labels, it’s not the most important thing in the world, but it’s definitely rewarding at times like this. … It was fun, as soon as we get that motivation, it’s really fun to keep it going.”
The Comets cut the deficit back to four after baskets from Kelley and Kayla Ferancy, but another run from the Bulldogs put the game out of reach by halftime.
They finished the half on an 11-0 run, as Cameron, Jessica Wolanin and Grace Largent all made 3-pointers. As a whole, Olmsted Falls outscored Amherst in the second quarter, 20-4.
“We all work really hard on our skill work outside of practice, so we know that anyone’s capable,” Cameron said. “(Simon) had a really high-scoring first half. We know that anyone’s capable of scoring at one time and we don’t care who shoots it or who scores it.”
Amherst put together a better showing in the second half, but Olmsted Falls didn’t allow a rally. The Bulldogs made 10 3-pointers for the game and made life hard on the other end. Although this game didn’t go their way, the Comets are better off for the stretch run having this experience under their belts.
“It’s not a good matchup for us,” Rositano said. “That style and that pace when depth is lacking makes things very difficult. But I give our girls credit for competing and fighting until the very end. That was our goal because when you play a team that isn’t good as them, it’s going to pay off. We’re excited for the tournament.”