The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kenston, North girls to clash in district final
Rangers beat Chardon, Kenston tops Geneva in district semifinals
The Western Reserve Conference will have a team in the Division I girls regional basketball tournament this year.
And unlike other years, they won’t need a ticket to get in.
Samantha Pirosko and Destiny Leo combined for 38 points to lead top-seeded North to a 50-41 win over fifthseeded Chardon in the first of two district semifinals on Feb. 26 in Perry’s Spectator Gymnasium.
In the nightcap, secondseeded Kenston got a fierce defensive effort to stave off thirdseeded Geneva, 54-44.
North and Kenston, who finished one-two in the WRC this season, will meet for the third time on Feb. 28 for the right to advance to the Division I regional tournament.
It will be the first time the conference has had a regional qualifier in girls basketball.
“What I’m really proud of is a WRC team is going to win this district,” said Kenston coach John Misenko. “That’s awesome. We haven’t had one since, well, since the WRC was formed.”
North coach Paul Force agreed.
“I think it’s been something that’s been up and coming,” he said. “If you pay attention to districts, we’ve sent a couple of teams to the semifinals each year. This year we had three. I think it’s huge as far as our conference gaining a little bit of respect now by getting it done at tournament time.”
Force’s Rangers built a massive lead against Chardon to take control early, but had to fight off a late charge by the Hilltoppers to gain the ninepoint win.
When North took a 25-5 lead at the half, thanks in part to an ice-cold 2-for27 performance from the field by the Hilltoppers, it looked like the Rangers were going to waltz into the district final.
But Chardon cut the North lead to five points, 40-35, with 3:08 remaining on a Grace Bradley 3-pointer.
The Rangers got some clutch free throws and a game-clincher by Pirosko to pull out the win.
“Starting out in the first half the way we did, holding a team to five points at this time of the year was impressive,” Force said. “They’re not going to go away losing by 25 or 30 points. They made their run. I’m proud of the way the girls responded to it.”
Pirosko (16 points, 21 rebounds) and Leo (22 points) did most of the heavy lifting for the Rangers, who still had to hold on for dear life with Chardon pouring in 25 points in the fourth quarter alone.
“We maybe looked calm, but we weren’t that calm,” said Pirosko of the nail-biting fourth quarter for her team. “Credit to them. That was a heck of a quarter.”
Bradley had 10 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter for Chardon. But each time Chardon got close, Pirosko or Leo made a play.
“That was our focal point and they didn’t care,” Chardon coach Cullen Harris said of North’s dynamic 1-2 punch of Leo and Pirosko. “They ripped through double teams. We tried to take them away and they still got (38) of their 52. Give them credit.”
North’s appearance in the district final is the program’s first since 2002, an accomplishment at which Leo marvelled.
“Wow, 2002,” she said. “That was the year I was born!.”
Kenston 54, Geneva 44
Misenko has one of the best Division I players in this corner of Ohio, and he knows it.
Corenna Maynard scored a game-high 21 points and hounded Geneva’s Abby Carter all over the court defensively, leading the Bombers to a third crack at the Rangers in the district final.
“Corenna is our leader,” Misenko said. “She’s a player-of-the-year candidate in the WRC. She should get any award anyone votes on. She’s a phenomenal basketball player. She’s the heart and soul of what we do.”
Although Kenston never trailed after Marcie Olglesbee’s 3-pointer at the 5:45 mark of the first quarter broke a 2-2 tie, the Bombers were never able to really pull away from the Eagles.
But whenever Geneva would make a mini-run, it was the Kenston defense that made a play.
“We never got in any kind of flow on either end of the floor,” Geneva coach Nancy Barbo said. “Things we hang our hat on we weren’t able to capitalize on at all in this game. That’s a credit to Kenston.”
Particularly Maynard, who held Carter to a pair of field goals and a trio of free throws, half of her 14-point average.
“Defense is my favorite thing in basketball,” Maynard said. “I make it my mission to always stop whoever I am guarding.”
Oglesbee added nine to supplement Maynard, while Julie Hajdu had seven.
For Geneva, Hailey Peoples-O’Neil shook off foul trouble for 17 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Vencille had nine points and 14 rebounds.