The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
North’s rally falls short in Canton
GlenOak ousts Rangers for second year in a row
CANTON » Some felt the best birthday present the North girls basketball team could have given coach Paul Force on March 6 was a regional championship and a trip to the Division I state final four.
The Rangers gave him something better.
They gave him everything they had.
Rallying back from a 15-point halftime deficit, North got as close as four points late in the regional championship game in Canton before falling to Canton GlenOak, 62-56.
It’s the second year in a row the Golden Eagles ended the Rangers’ season, going with the 45-41 regional championship victory last March.
But as they did last year, the Rangers didn’t leave the Canton Civic Center with tears. They left with head held high while counting blessings.
“In life or basketball, if you walk away from anything knowing you put everything you have into it, you played hard and love the people you’re with, you’re going to have no regrets,” said Force, who was celebrating his 39th birthday. “That’s all you can ask for as a basketball team and all you can ask for in life.”
North (23-4) looked out of the game at halftime. After missing their first three shots of the game, GlenOak made 15 of their next 22 — including 7 of 9 from 3-point land — to take a commanding 39-25 lead at the break.
All without top player Aniyah Hall, who tore her left ACL in the eighth game of the season and hasn’t played since.
Destiny Leo, who ended her decorated career at North with a game-high 30 points in her final game in a Rangers uniform, credited the Golden Eagles.
“We knew they were capable of hitting shots like that,” Leo said. “If you give them a little space, they’re going to knock it down. You’ve just to roll with the punches.”
North didn’t quit at halftime. Leo hit two 3-pointers and Lydia Vajusi hit one of her own to keep things even with the 15-point deficit — 52-37 — going into the fourth.
That’s when the Rangers made their big run.
An 8-0 run to start the fourth got North back in the game, starting with two free throws by Avril Drew, an and-one by Leo and a 3-pointer from the top by Abby Carter.
But as she did all night, sophomore guard Breezie Williams answered with a drive to stem the tide at 54-45.
A 4-0 run made it 5447, but then Williams hit a bank shot to push the lead
back out to nine with five minutes left.
It was 58-55 on a Carterto-Drew bucket with 1:20 left and 60-56 when Dori Siekniec buried a 3 from the corner with 11.3 seconds left.
But North couldn’t get closer than that.
“I’m extremely proud of the resilience we showed, coming out down 14 or 15 at the half and playing as hard and loving each other as much as we did in the second half,” Force said. “I’m very proud of that.
“I think we picked up the pace a little bit, got some turnovers and extra opportunities. We just didn’t have enough to get over that (margin).”
Williams led GlenOak with 18, while Makenzie Green (13), Jordan Weir (12) and Lexi Lemire (10) all hit double figures.
Coach Paul Wackerly was out of breath following the game, marveling at his team’s return trip the Division I state tournament despite having an entirely new starting lineup this year, and the early-season loss of Hall
to injury.
GlenOak will play Norwalk in a state semifinal on March 13.
“It says a lot about them,” he said, nodding to the players as they cut down the nets. “I’ve had a lot of great teams, but never had a story like this one — kids leaving, our best player going down in the eighth game . ... It’s my finest hour as a coach, no doubt about it.”
Leo scored 30 points, giving her 62 in the twogame regional tournament. Siekaniec had nine, while Avril Drew had eight. Carter was held to five.
Leo praised her team’s character for coming back like it did after the big halftime deficit.
The senior Cleveland State signee exits the program with more than 2,100 career points, but echoed her coach when it came to counting blessings.
“The points come and go. That’s not really what matters,” she said. “Yeah. ... That’s not what matters to me. I’m just proud. I’m happy to have a family with all of these people.”