By Roger Gordon

Correspondent

Crestwood achieved something on Tuesday at home against Chagrin Valley Conference rival Rootstown that is an anomaly at any level of basketball.

The Red Devils turned an eight-point deficit after three quarters into a seven-point victory, 44-37, by shutting out the Rovers 15-0 in the fourth quarter to improve to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the CVC.

“We were getting deflections and steals and limiting shots,” head coach T.J. Henderson said. “If Rootstown shot the ball, we pulled in the rebound, which was a big key for us. It was a huge turnaround.”

Freshman post player Reese Harper had a monster game with 23 points, 18 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. Junior guard Madie Grace Gonczy tallied eight points, six steals and four rebounds, while Liv Martini, another junior guard, contributed seven points and seven rebounds.

Four nights earlier, on Dec. 5 also at home, Crestwood defeated Chagrin Falls, another CVC foe, 35-34.

Once again, the Red Devils trailed by eight points after three quarters but rallied to win, again by scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter and yielding only six.

“We weren’t shooting really well. We were playing hard, but the ball wasn’t going in the net,” said Henderson. “We just started chipping away and got the win.”

Harper led the way with nine points, 21 boards and four steals; Gonczy had eight points, three rebounds and two steals; and Martini had a ridiculous 13 steals. Sophomore forward Ava Lincoln chipped in seven points, five rebounds and a pair of steals.

STREETSBORO

Streetsboro has had some easy wins in recent years, much like its 65-10 rout of Springfield Dec. 6 at home in the Rockets’ Metro Athletic Conference opener in which there was a running clock in the fourth quarter.

There was one big difference in this game, however.

“In some of those other games, we felt like we were more talented, but were disappointed with how we played,” head coach Carl Singer said. “We were pretty happy with how the girls played against Springfield. They were focused and engaged the whole game.

Streetsboro, which improved to 2-0 overall, was led by junior forward Ava Scisciani and senior guard Claire Campbell. Scisciani scored 12 points and had five rebounds, five steals and an assist, while Campbell totaled 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

“Ava started in place of one of our injured seniors and came in and did a really nice job. A couple of her steals turned into buckets on the other end,” said Singer. “It was a nice game for Claire. This is her first season playing significant varsity minutes. It was good to see her get off to a good start and play well.”

Freshman guard Ma’Ryah McIntosh contributed nine points, five boards, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

AURORA

After a tight first half in which Aurora held a slim 30-28 lead Dec. 6 at home over Suburban League rival Revere, it was all Greenmen in the second half en route to a convincing 72-51 victory that upped their overall record to 3-2 and their league mark to 1-1.

“We decided we needed to pick up our defensive pressure, so we ended up picking Revere up full-court man, doing some doubling and really pressuring their guards,” head coach Erika Greenberg said. “I think that swung the game for us. They struggled a little bit managing the pressure.”

Leading the way were senior guard Addison Witting with 20 points and six rebounds and sophomore forward Reese Witting, his brother, with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

“Addison has really, really worked hard the last four years to develop her game and get it to the next level,” said Greenberg. “She’s the kind of kid who comes in early and shoots around and stays late and works on her craft. She can handle the ball, she can shoot the 3, she can get to the rim, she has a really nice mid-range jumper. She’s an amazing defender. She really sells out on defense and buys in on being a really great defender. She’s an all-around player for us.

“Reese had some growing pains last season just like most freshmen do, but this season she came in much stronger. She bought into the weight room. One of her focuses is rebounding and cleaning up the glass on offense and defense, and I think she’s doing a really good job of getting to the boards and playing aggressive, going for rebounds. She’s a good post defender, she’s smart, she understands the game. As she continues to grow as a player, she’s going to be really good.”

FIELD

Field put it in cruise control on Tuesday in a 52-15 win at Metro Athletic Conference rival Springfield in which there was a running clock in the fourth quarter. The Falcons improved to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the MAC.

“We started off a little slow, but then settled in a little bit,” head coach John Misenko said. “We started moving the ball and knocking down some shots.”

Senior guard Morgan Stoicoiu scored 13 points (including four 3-pointers) and had four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Freshman center Sophia Confer had 12 points and four rebounds.

“Morgan shot the ball really well. I thought she was aggressive shooting as well as attacking and creating for her teammates. Defensively, I thought she did a nice job as well,” said Misenko. “It was a lot of short stuff around the basket for Sophia, but she made shots, which was important for her because the last few games I think nerves were kind of a factor as a freshman playing varsity minutes. She had great opportunities the previous five games, but shots would roll off. I’m hoping this is a confidence booster for her and that helps her moving forward to keep shooting the ball. She needs to be a little bit more aggressive.”

Sophomore guard Audrey Richmond contributed 10 points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots, while freshman forward Alison Church tallied seven points, six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists.

GARFIELD

Winning ugly.

You hear the term all the time in the world of sports.

Garfield’s 46-36 triumph on Monday at home over Champion in its Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference opener fits the bill, at least according to head coach Aaron Gilbert of his team that has split its first two games of the season.

“It was a very ugly game on both sides,” Gilbert said. “I think combined we shot 52 free throws. Lots of fouls. It was just a really sloppy game where neither team could get any real rhythm because of the foul count. Fortunately, we were able to come away with a win.”

Pacing the G-Men was senior shooting guard Mandy Cardinal, who scored 18 points and had 14 rebounds and two assists.

“Champion did what they did last year to Mandy,” said Gilbert, “which was faceguard her for good chunks of the middle quarters. She didn’t really get a lot of touches, so it was a very efficient night shooting percentage wise. They did a nice job of just kind of annoying her and locking a person on her, but she was still able to score some in transition and off some offensive rebounds.”

SOUTHEAST

It was a good day all around for Southeast Dec. 6 in a 57-27 rout at West Salem Northwestern.

“We got off to a great start,” head coach Ashley Callihan said. “I wanted to get a lot of our younger players in. I was able to play 12 kids a lot of big minutes. It was a really good opportunity for some of our younger kids to get in and get some experience. I’m really proud of the way they kept competing in that second half. Everybody scored.”

Junior forward Jenna Canale scored 12 points.

“Jenna had a really strong first quarter,” said Callihan. “She was scoring inside and out, which is good because she’s going to have to get creative to get some different looks. She also did a good job of sharing the ball and hit some of her open teammates for good shots.”

It was a different story two nights later, on Monday, as the Pirates lost 70-26 at Crestview in their Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference opener. It was Southeast’s first defeat in five games.

“Crestview is a very solid, fundamental team,” said the coach, pointing to Addison Rhodes, the Rebels’ all-everything guard with Division-I offers at the next level who scored 34 points to go with 14 rebounds, 10 steals, four assists and a blocked shot for good measure.

“She does it all. She’s hard to stop. I think our girls were a little shocked and weren’t ready for how the first half went, but I’m proud of the way they competed in the second half. I told them at halftime, ‘This is an opportunity to get better. Maybe the game is out of reach, but we can still compete, and we can get better as a team.’ I’m proud of the way they responded.”

ROOTSTOWN

Rootstown cruised to a 59-18 victory Dec. 5 at home over Wickliffe in its Chagrin Valley Conference opener.

“Wickliffe is athletic, but just doesn’t have the firepower to keep up with our press. That gave them some problems. We also shot the ball pretty well,” head coach Joe Leonard said.

“They also have some injuries and only have seven or eight girls.”

Senior shooting guard Cloe Bengston scored 16 points to go with seven steals and three rebounds; freshman shooting guard Eva Tishma had 14 points (including four 3-point shots); and junior shooting guard Mia Damicone tallied 10 points, three rebounds and three steals.

“Cloe is very good at anticipating steals, and she’s really a next-level type of defender for us,” said Leonard. “Eva has been shooting the ball pretty well, so we’ve been giving her more minutes. Mia provides energy in the starting lineup. She can shoot the ball, she’s quick, she’s a solid defender. She had a really nice game for us.”

Four nights later, on Tuesday at CVC rival Crestwood, the Rovers were in the lead for pretty much the entire game, but they were shut out (15-0) in the fourth quarter — a rare occurrence at any level of basketball — and suffered their first loss of the season in four games by a 44-37 score.

“Crestwood played good defense, and we just didn’t make shots,” the coach said. “I have to give them credit for playing hard and forcing us to do things we’re not accustomed to. We also had major foul trouble all evening long. We had two girls foul out, and four of the five starters had four fouls by early in the third quarter.”

Senior forward Colbie Curall scored 10 points, while Bengston had nine.

RAVENNA

With his Ravenna team trailing only 10-8 late in the first quarter on Tuesday, head coach DaVante McKinney had hope that his Ravens could keep pace with Metro Athletic Conference rival Cloverleaf for the entire game.

“We were going toe to toe with them,” McKinney said. “There was a lot of energy and effort.”

A 12-2 run by the visiting Colts, however, left the home team staring at a 22-10 deficit entering the second quarter. That turned into a 37-18 halftime deficit and then a 52-27 hole after three quarters that eventually turned into a 65-37 defeat as Ravenna slipped to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the MAC.

“We get down too fast when we start to lose, when they feel the game is out of reach,” said McKinney. “If we make a run to close the gap, one call that doesn’t go our way or one turnover that doesn’t go our way, we start to hang our heads. We need to make a culture change.”

Pacing the Ravens were senior guard Miriyha Sandifer with 14 points and center Jalysia Thompson, Sandifer’s classmate, who had five points, 14 rebounds, five blocked shots and three assists.

WINDHAM

Windham hung with visiting Cortland Maplewood in the second half Dec. 4, getting outscored just 27-15.

Problem was, the Bombers trailed 38-5 at halftime for a 65-20 final score.

“Maplewood plays an aggressive run and jump defense. They’re big and quick,” head coach Jimie Collins said. “They just smothered us, and our inexperience caught up to us. We’re relatively young. We’re very athletic one through five, but once I have to go to the bench it kind of changes the way we approach the game.”

To make matters worse in the loss to the Rockets, starting junior guard Makenzi Blockinger and sophomore point guard Hannah Silver were out due to injuries.

Sophomore guard Makenna Jones scored 14 points.

Four nights later, on Dec. 8 again at home, Windham fell 52-35 to Kinsman Badger to slip to 0-5 on the season.

Said Collins, “I told the girls before the game, ‘Another good team, very athletic. Let’s try to match their energy the first three minutes of the game and let’s try to be in the game.’ ”

Message received.

The Bombers trailed only 12-7 after one quarter, 25-12 at halftime and 44-19 after three quarters before closing the gap in the final period.

“I felt like our first five played Kinsman Badger’s first five well, which is important for me going forward with this group,” said the coach. “And I like the fact that my kids didn’t quit. They came out after halftime and stayed in the game.”

Jones and sister Brielle Jones, a senior forward, each scored 12 points. Big Sister added 12 rebounds, while Little Sister pulled down nine boards.

Blockinger was back and tallied eight points.

WATERLOO

It has been a difficult start to the season for the Vikings, who are now 0-5 on the season.

The latest loss came by a 65-10 score on Monday at Mineral Ridge. Four nights earlier, the Vines lost 50-23 to Jackson-Milton.

“The loss to Mineral Ridge was ugly,” head coach Nicole Lewis said. “The second quarter against Jackson-Milton (in which Waterloo was outscored 25-6) was the key to the game. We really played with them very well the first, third and fourth quarters. In the second quarter, they were just hitting their shots. We were also just flatfooted. We weren’t playing our game.”

Sophomore guard Alexis Henry showed promise, scoring nine points.

Waterloo is young and inexperienced. Even the two seniors on the squad are in their first season.

“We try to keep our heads up and have a good attitude,” said Lewis. “It’s hard going out and getting beat by as many points as we have by teams that have been together for years. It’s hard because we’re trying to rebuild, but we’re also trying to keep spirits high and morale up. We’re doing the best we can. We’re building for the future. Our youth program has grown in the last two or three years, and our middle-school teams are doing well.”