Rangers continue hot start

Anyone who thought the North girls basketball team was going to fall off the face of the earth with the spring graduation of two-time All-Ohioan Destiny Leo — welp — you might want to tap the brakes on that notion.

The Rangers beat visiting Mentor, 60-44, on Jan. 13 meaning that, even with a late start because of the COVID-19 pandemic, North is 2-0 with an average winning margin of 19.5 points per game.

So yeah, the Rangers don’t look like they’re falling apart anywhere soon.

“A lot of people doubted us,” said senior Avril Drew, who scored 16 points in the win over Mentor.

“It’s different,” said fellow senior Abby Carter, who had a game-high 26 against the Cardinals. “But everyone is picking up their roles and playing pretty well.”

North never trailed against Mentor.

In fact, the Rangers didn’t trail in their opening win over Cleveland Heights, either.

But when Bella Carciopolla hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 1-minute, 30-second mark of the third quarter, Mentor had trimmed North’s lead to six at 3933.

But North scored seven points in the final minute of the third to stretch the lead to double-figures at 46-33, and Mentor never got close again.

Drew started the run with a bucket off a feed from Carter. Then Carter buried a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 44-33.

North missed a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, but Drew hustled in for the putback just before the buzzer rang.

“We needed to go on a run and get that lead up before the quarter ended,” Carter said.

The closest Mentor got the rest of the way was 10 points at 50-40.

“That was a big turning point,” said Mentor coach James Hrusovsky. “The girls fought so hard in the third quarter to chip away (at a 32-21 halftime deficit).

Against a good team if you give a couple easy possessions, it can snowball on you in a hurry.”

Mini-runs like the one North went on at the end of the third were plentiful for the Rangers. A 5-0 run at the end of the first quarter gave North a 15-9 lead. An 8-0 run in the second turned a 22-15 lead into a 31-15 advantage.

Each time, Mentor closed the margin but never totally got over the hump.

“(Mentor) played hard. They’re a great team,” Carter said. “We played them last year in districts. We knew they were a tough team and were coming for us.”

Bella Carcipopollo had a huge game for Mentor (1-3), with a game-high 21 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers in the third that cut North’s lead to 39-33.

“She had a career night at Brunswick on Saturday (with 20) and had another one tonight,” Hrusovsky. “She’s just all over the floor. She handles a lot of pressure and does a lot of things besides score the basketball for us.”

Edinboro commit Brooke Hickman was held to five points, often smothered by double- and triple-teams in the post.

While Carter and Drew led North, the Rangers got plenty of contributions from others.

“One sign of a good basketball player is impacting a game without scoring,” he said. “Cece Hamilton had a great game running the one (point guard) for us. Hailie Wilson had 18 rebounds. She didn’t score a point, but had 18 rebounds. That changes a game. Sydney Helm played great defense and knocked down some shots.

“(Carter and Drew) aren’t going to score 50 points every night. We have girls who are capable scorers.”

Force credited his players for coming out of the gate fast this week. The Western Reserve Conference opener is Jan. 16 against Madison.

“Credit the girls. They’ve stayed ready,” Force said. “I think we were down for 41 days (because of COVID-19) and going virtual only. To stay focused and stay ready and be able to excel this early in the season, I’m impressed with them.”