The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Unrelenting OF back in final
“Relentless.” That was the word Magnificat coach Dan Gallagher described Olmsted Falls on both sides of the ball.
In a Division I state semifinal, the Bulldogs did not let up on either side of the ball. In a complete game, they made big runs in the second and third quarters for a 62-38 win March 15.
“I think that (Olmsted Falls’) whole system was just relentless on both sides of the ball,” he said. “They force you to throw the ball in places that you do not want to throw it to. You need to attack those sorts of pressures. That was something that we’ve done all season long. Tonight, it was hard for us to beat them. They were relentless, and it was really good.”
The Bulldogs made it back to the Division I state championship that will be played March 16 against Springboro. They reached 25 wins for the second straight season, with a 25-3 record. Magnificat finished its season 21-7, as it reached the state tournament for the sixth time in school history.
Magnificat once held a 19-17 lead in the second quarter, as Blue Streaks junior Reese Roggenburk effectively played in the paint with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The snowball began to roll from that point on for a 15-5 run to close the second quarter and a 17-2 run in the third quarter. Olmsted Falls conceded two points in the first six minutes of the second half and led 49-28 to start the fourth quarter.
“Coming into the season, I knew that (our zone) was going to be a strength of ours with the length,” Olmsted Falls coach Jordan Eaton said. “We have a lot of hard-working kids, and we also have a lot of long kids. We
don’t really have that 6-foot player that is going to anchor a defense with blocked shots. We have a lot of kids that are 5-9 with long arms or 5-11.”
Danielle Cameron returned
to the spotlight with two points in the first quarter, but help kickstart the 15-5 run with back-to-back field goals, two steals and an assist to Jesse Simon.
“We were playing by our philosophy, playing hard,” Cameron said. “We were playing hard and letting the game come to us. Do not force when we are not open
and pass. I think the whole team did well in finding the girl open and we were taking up our shots.”
Olmsted Falls’ performance was a complete team effort as six different Bulldogs made a 3-point shot and totaled 18 assists. They shot 10 of 19 from beyond the 3-point arc.
“It’s hard where the offense
is going to come for us,” Eaton said. “Our girls do a great job of sharing the basketball and not really caring about who gets the credit.”
Cameron scored 19 points to lead Olmsted Falls and Maddie Cerovac scored 10 as well. Coming off the bench, freshman Avery DeLisio scored seven points.
“All of us, as a team, take the time to put that skillwork for all types of shots. Tonight, it was the corner 3 (for me),” Simon said.
Simon played a pivotal role in the first quarter, which went back-andforth with Magnificat. She scored 10 of her 15 points in that time period with two 3-pointers.
“She is a really great player and a great teammate,” Eaton said. “She has really worked at it. When we really need her she steps up. She is extremely coachable. That is something that I am most proud of about her.”
Magnificat’s leading scorer was Roggenburk’s 10 points and was followed by Katie Maryo’s nine points.