The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Patriots ousted in state semi
COLUMBUS >> Cornerstone Christian girls basketball coach Lisa Stopp hoped Minster’s experience at the state tournament wouldn’t be too big of a factor. It was. And then some. Minster played like the defending state champions it is March 15, outscoring, outrebounding, outpassing — and pretty much out-everythinged what Cornerstone presented — in a lopsided 65-31 Division IV state-semifinal victory at Jerome Schottenstein Center.
The win sent Minster (27-1) onto the state final against Ottoville, while Cornerstone (23-6) went home short of its season’s goal.
Ottoville defeated Shadyside, 50-43, in the second semifinal.
“I was hoping it wasn’t going to be that big of an advantage,” Stopp said of the state-experience advantage Minster had over her team. “It showed up today. Experience on this court means a lot.”
Underclassmen-laden Cornerstone never led and was never really in the game.
The Patriots trailed, 6-0, from the get-go, were down by 12 after the first quarter, down by 15 at the half and then put away in the third when the Wildcats went on a 13-1 run.
Much of the fourth quarter was played by both teams’ reserves.
“I’d say this wasn’t typical,” Minster coach Mike Wiss said of his team’s sharp performance in every facet of the game, “but it’s what we preach.”
Minster poured the ball inside to 6-foot-2 forward Courtney Prenger, who made 9 of 14 shots for a game-high 18 points. She also had a game-high nine rebounds.
But her dominance was just a microcosm of Minster’s play in general.
Minster shot 58.3 percent (27 of 47) from the field, dished out 17 assists on those 27 baskets, and outrebounded Cornerstone by a hefty margin, 36-14. Minster had more offensive rebounds (15) than Cornerstone had total rebounds (14).
In days leading up to the game, Stopp said her team wanted to score in transition, force turnovers and limit Prenger. But when the Patriots got into some early foul trouble, Stopp put her team in a zone, which only resulted in Minster hammering home a quartet of 3-pointers.
“They had an answer for everything we did,” Stopp said. “That’s a sign of a defending state champion.”
Even down, 34-19 at the half, Cornerstone came out firing in the third quarter with junior Madison Cloonan scoring a pair of baskets that narrowed the margin to 36-23. But then Minster went on a 12-1 run to end the third quarter and put the game out of reach.
Most of Minster’s damage was done in the paint. Of the 27 baskets the Wildcats made, 18 were layups or from point-blank range. All 12 points in the 12-1 third-quarter run were in the paint, including a slick touch pass from Prenger to Demaris Wolf in transition.
“I thought we shared the ball very well in transition,” said Wiss, whose career record is now 76-7 at the school.
Wiss credited his team for its play and for following the gameplan against Cornerstone, which centered around defending the Patriots’ guards and limiting transition baskets.
“On a scale of 1-to-10, we have to be a 13 on defense and a 4 on offense,” Wiss
said. “You’ve got to create turnovers, make their offense uncomfortable and value your possessions.”
Wiss’ defense limited Cornerstone, which came in averaging 61 points per game, to 10-of-33 (30.3) shooting, while forcing 16 turnovers.
Aside from Prenger, Minster got 12 points and six assists from sophomore Ivy Wolf, part of an effort that saw nine different Wildcats score.
Cornerstone got a teamhigh 13 from Kailey Tyna. Madison Cloonan had six before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter, but no other Patriot had more than three points.
In the aftermath of the loss, Madison Cloonan said she and her teammates will
“put up more shots” this offseason, while Tyna said it will drive her and her teammates to get back to Columbus next year “for a second chance at it.”
Stopp pointed out her team was fueled this season by a regional semifinal loss last March to Buckeye Central. She forecasted next year’s Cornerstone team — which returns everyone but senior guard Lauren Harris — will use the lopsided loss to Minster as motivation to get back to Columbus as an experienced team that won’t play tight on the big stage.
“A loss is worth it if you grow from it,” Stopp said. “This is something we’re going to talk about all next year. It’s a lesson Minster taught us, not to play tight.”