The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cornerstone Christian headed to state semis
Senior forward Michaela Cloonan and her Cornerstone Christian teammates left nothing to chance.
Senior forward Michaela Cloonan and her Cornerstone Christian teammates left nothing to chance March 7 in a Division IV regional final at Massillon Perry.
Seizing the lead midway through the first quarter, the Patriots cruised to a 49-39 victory over Buckeye Central.
Improving to 23-5, the Patriots repeated as regional champion and advanced to a state semifinal March 12 at St. John Arena in Columbus. They’ll face Fort Loramie. Tipoff is 6 p.m.
Cloonan finished with a gamehigh 16 points as the Patriots used an 18-0 run spanning the second and third quarters to take a 30-8 lead. She scored seven straight points to open the third quarter during the decisive spurt.
“We definitely wanted to push tempo and build a big lead,” Cloonan said.
To their credit, the Buckettes cut into Cornerstone’s big lead in the fourth quarter and reduced the deficit to seven points.
“In the fourth quarter
we should have done a better job keeping our lead, but that’s something we can work on in practice before going to Columbus,” Cloonan said.
This is the second straight year and third in the last five with Lisa Stopp as coach that Cornerstone has won a regional title and advanced to the final four of the state tournament.
“Having the history we
have here is one thing.” Stopp said. “We believe in preparation and being ready to play in big games in pressure situations. That’s why we play the aggressive schedule we do.”
Junior forward Aislyn Hurst scored 13 points for the Patriots. Junior guard Riley Stoop added 11.
Buckeye (21-6) got 15 points from junior guard Taylor Ratliff.
After the final buzzer, Cornerstone players and coaches were joined by fans in an on-court celebration that included cutting down the nets and posing for a photo with the regional title trophy.
“You come into these games knowing one team is 32 minutes from their season being over,” Stopp said. “What a great feeling to get the win and move on.”