The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Gilmour, Perry capture crowns on ice and court
The Gilmour hockey team defeats rival University in overtime to win the Cleveland Cup. In girls basketball, Perry edges Geneva to claim the CVC Chagrin Division championship.
Turnabout is fair play — or so they say.
When the Geneva girls basketball team defeated visiting Perry earlier in the season, it did so with an amazing defensive effort and clutch free throwshooting down the stretch.
The Pirates gave the Eagles a dose of their own medicine on Feb. 10, and with that effort earned a CVC Chagrin Division championship.
Perry held Geneva without a field goal for the final 11 minutes, 22 seconds of the game, made 7 of 9 free throws down the stretch and avenged an early season loss with a 35-29 victory in Spectator Gymnasium.
It’s the second CVC Chagrin title in a row for the Pirates.
“This feels amazing, especially with it being the second time in a row,” said junior Anna Sorine. “Every day since (we lost to them),
we’ve just been working to get better so it wouldn’t happen again.”
Perry (19-1, 13-1) needed the win, as it was the Pirates’ final CVC game of the season. Geneva (17-3, 11-2) could have clinched at least a share of the title with a win, but still has a league game next week against Chagrin Falls.
“This one was a good one,” said Perry coach Brindi Kandel, cracking a
smile of satisfaction.
When sophomore Jordan Vencill hit a shot on a nifty post move at the 3:22 mark of the third quarter, Geneva had a 26-24 lead.
No one in the gymnasium ever imagined that would be the Eagles’ last field goal of the game.
Geneva’s only fourthquarter points came on two free throws by Hailey Peoples-O’Neil and one by Abby Carter. The Eagles were 0-for-10 with three turnovers in the final eight minutes, with a lion’s share of the credit going to a suffocating zone defense that had plenty of man-to-man principles with its matchup tendencies that took away 6-foot Peoples-O’Neil and 6-foot Vencill.
Any shot the Eagles did get was hotly contested. None went in. Game over. “I felt like we got some decent looks,” said Geneva coach Nancy Barbo said. “Our focus was trying to take advantage of our size. When they went to the zone, it forced us to rush our shots, and they weren’t dropping.”
For the game, Geneva hit a chilly 11-for-44 (25 percent).
When Sorine hit two free throws with 4:49 left, the four-point margin (30-26) was the biggest margin either team had since Geneva had a 17-13 lead midway through the second quarter.
Even with 33.5 seconds left, Geneva only trailed, 31-28, on an Abby Carter free throw. And it was 3129 with 18.9 seconds left.
But Madyson Hacking netted two free throws with 14.9 ticks on the clock, and then Sorine put the nail in the coffin with two more.
Sorine was a problem for Geneva all afternoon, scoring a game-high 20 points. Many came on drives down the left side that Barbo tried in vain to get her team to guard against.
“That was problematic for us,” Barbo said. “She did a great job getting to the basket, which I knew was her strength. We didn’t do a good job of stopping that.”
Hacking had seven points to go with a teamhigh seven rebounds.
Claire Dolan, the team’s leading scorer held scoreless in the first meeting, hit her opening shot on a 3-pointer but was held scoreless otherwise.
Vencill had a team-high 12 points for Geneva, with Peoples-O’Neil adding 10. Geneva was 0-for 10 from 3-point land.
“To limit them, we had to pack the paint and still try to guard the perimeter, because they have some good shooters,” Kandel said. “Our kids’ rotation was perfect.”
Barbo, who said missing out on the CVC title was “much disappointment” hopes her team can find some answers and momentum in their final two regular-season games against Chagrin Falls and South to make some sort of a tournament run in the upcoming Division I district in Spectator Gymnasium.
Perry plays North next week in the regular-season finale before embarking on the Lakeside Division II tournament.
“I can honestly say for a fact this is the first team I’ve had that I can say from beginning to end, the growth has been absolutely phenomenal,” Kandel said.
And the Pirates have a CVC title to show for it.