The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kenston rallies for victory in girls hoops
THE SCORE KENSTON 62, CHARDON 53
The Bombers trailed Chardon in the second half, but overtook the Hilltoppers for a Western Reserve Conference victory. Kenston is enjoying a 3-0 record and first-place standing in the WRC.
Chardon, Brush and North were considered the premier teams in the Western Reserve Conference entering the season.
Kenston wants to prove it belongs at the top, too.
Rayonna Peterson scored a career-high 22 points as the Bombers overcame a second-half deficit to win at Chardon, 62-53, on Dec. 13. At 5-1 with a 3-0 record in WRC play, the Bombers stand alone atop the league standings.
“I feel that we get looked down a lot,” Peterson said. “People don’t see our full potential, so I think that this is our season to just bust out and let everyone know we’re a good team.”
Danni McCartney led Chardon with 13 points, Hallie Landies scored 12 and Grace Bradley chipped in 10.
Corenna Maynard added 12 points for Kenston.
The Bombers trailed by nine midway through the third quarter, then proceeded to outscore the Hilltoppers, 27-9, in the final 1 ½ quarters. Coach John Misenko identified Kenston’s defense and Peterson’s play as the catalysts in the Bombers’ ability to erase Chardon’s lead and earn a road victory.
“That was the best game she’s had in her career,” Misenko said. “I knew she had a mismatch because she’s a big girl and we actually threw her the ball. We haven’t done that all year and I’ve been telling them we’ve got to reward the bigs when they run up and down the floor because when you don’t, they stop playing.”
Peterson scored eight points in the first quarter to put Kenston ahead, 1513. McCartney scored 11 of her 13 points in the second quarter as Chardon led, 31-27, at halftime.
Landies’ layup gave the Hilltoppers their first lead of the game, 17-15, before Rachel Apshago’s 3 put Kenston back up, 18-17.
McCartney’s layup followed by Sydney Feller’s 3-pointer stretched Chardon’s lead to eight, 31-23, before layups by Peterson and Rachel Apshago halved Kenston’s halftime deficit.
Chardon and Kenston traded baskets for the first half of the third quarter before the Hilltoppers took a 44-35 lead on Anna Pastor’s layup. The Bombers used a 7-0 run to cut Chardon’s lead back to two.
After a Hilltopper free throw, Marcie Oglesbee made a 3-pointer in the period’s final seconds to tie the score, 45-45.
Kenston took a 47-45 lead to start the fourth on Apshago’s fast-break layup. After a Chardon free throw, the Bombers scored the next three baskets to take a 52-46 lead. A Pastor layup ended the run, but free throws by Peterson pushed Kenston’s lead back to six with under four minutes to play.
McCartney drew Chardon within 54-50 before Peterson scored on a pair of layups that stretched the Bombers’ lead to 5850.
Chardon coach Cullen Harris said the Hilltoppers created quality shots with their penetration. But cold shooting was allowed to impact Chardon’s effort on the defensive end — especially in the final 12 minutes.
“Our effort waned,” Harris said. “Our focus waned, our defensive intensity waned. That can’t happen. Basketball is a game of runs and we were unable to stop their runs.”