The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kenston beats Chardon on coast-to-coast shot
The Bombers’ Corenna Maynard dribbled the length of the court in the waning seconds for the game-winning basket against visiting Chardon to win a WRC contest.
Sometimes the best thing to do in a tight game is to tuck the playbook in your back pocket, eat your final timeout and just let your best player make a play.
That’s the route Kenston girls basketball coach John Misenko went with on Jan. 27, and it worked out just like he hoped it would.
After Chardon’s Danni McCarthy made two free throws with 7.8 seconds remaining to give the visiting Hilltoppers a 42-41 lead, Kenston senior Corenna Maynard dribbled the length of the court and made a driving layup with 1.4 ticks on the clock, giving the Bombers a 43-42 victory that kept them in the Western Reserve Conference race.
“I wanted her to go,” said Misenko of his decision not to call a timeout after McCartney made the second free throw. “I wanted to catch (Chardon) off-balance and let (Maynard) go. I told the girls if they make the free throw, get it and go. If they miss it, get it to Corenna and go.
“It was a heck of a play by a great player.”
Chardon did a good job most of the game of keeping Maynard in check. But her step-back 3-pointer in the fourth quarter helped erase a four-point lead by the Hilltoppers.
And when the game was on the line, Maynard wanted the ball.
“I knew they didn’t want to foul me, so I went all the way in,” Maynard said. “We practice last-minute game situations. I usually dish it off. This was just another layup to me.”
Chardon coach Cullen Harris could do little more than shrug his shoulders after the game. Chardon fell to 8-8 this season. Four of the Hilltoppers’ losses have come by four or fewer points.
“We lost because one kid made one more play than we did,” he said. “That’s basketball. We played with great effort. We executed on offense. We executed defensively. We played with a purpose and took care of the ball. We lost because Corenna Maynard made a great play. That’s life. But I can’t take anything away from how my girls played.”
There wasn’t much action in the first half. The teams were tied at 15-15 at halftime on a combined 12-for-44 shooting performance. But Chardon hit its first three field goals and a pair of free throws to take the lead. A Hallie Landies spinner in the lane opened a 27-21 Chardon lead, but the Bombers eventually pulled even at 31-31 going into the fourth with the help of a 6-0 run capped by two Rayonna Peterson free throws.
A Grace Bradley drive opened a 39-35 lead for Chardon in the fourth, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Marcie Oglesbee and Maynard gave Kenston the lead — until McCartney’s two charity shots with 7.8 seconds left.
“(McCartney) missed all of last year,” Harris said. “She’s a bull. There aren’t many kids in our conference who can go down the lane and finish with the left hand like her — and that’s her off-hand.
“Those were two big free throws. I thought those were going to be the difference.”
McCartney finished with 12 points, Bradley had 13 and Landies had 11.
For Kenston, Maynard had 12, Oglesbee had 10 and Peterson had 10 points to go with a game-high 19 rebounds.
Peterson left the game early in the fourth quarter with what looked to be a serious knee injury. Misenko said further tests will be done, but feared Peterson might have torn her right ACL.
The win keeps Kenston (13-4 9-1) one game behind North (13-3, 10-0) in the WRC race. The Bombers host the Rangers on Feb. 3.
“The goal of my season was to get the WRC title,” Maynard said. “That’s what we’re fighting for. It feels great to be in one of those top spots.”