Elyria Catholic held a lead for most of the game, but VASJ senior Lexus Arnold converted an offensive rebound into points and gave the Lady Vikings their first lead of the night. Arnold’s basket was her only one of the game.
The momentum from that put-back turned out to be too much for Elyria Catholic to overcome, and the Lady Vikings claimed a 65-59 NCL crossover win.
"It’s a part of the entire group," said VASJ coach Anthony Redding. "Lexus is a senior and right now; we’re afforded the luxury that we have four to five bigs that on any given night can come in and spark us. Jessica Kravchuck played a great game, but on this night, it was Lexus to come off the bench and give us that basket."
The Lady Vikings needed Kravchuck’s production when leading scorer Taylor Kline committed two early fouls. With Kline’s scoring ability on the bench, Kravchuck and Alyson Lee stepped up their play. Kravchuck finished with 16 points and was active on the glass, helping to keep several rebounds alive for herself and teammates after tipping the ball out of a crowd underneath the basket.
Kravchuck also played a large part in the Lady Vikings’ run at the end of the third, in which they cut an 11-point Elyria Catholic lead down to three heading into the fourth quarter. She converted back-to-back layups in the last minute, pulling VASJ within one possession of the Panthers.
"I think that was huge for us," said Redding. "There’s something about this team. With our senior leadership and the girls that we have returning, they have a no-quit mentality. They cherish every moment out there on the floor. They get along with each other; there’s a lot of chemistry and they’re just pulling for each other. I think that was a crucial time in the game."
"We just started having turnovers and they started making baskets," Elyria Catholic coach Eric Rothgery said. "It’s not a really complicated game, but if we pass the ball to their girls and they catch it and they take it down and make baskets, we lose. We pressed longer today than we have in any game before and we were having success with it, but I think it kind of wore the girls down. Obviously, we were hoping to wear them down and we wore down more than they did."
Lee finished with a game-high 24 points and was able to extend the Lady Vikings’ fourth-quarter lead by sinking 3 of 4 free throws over the final 2:23 of the game.
"Alyson’s a great player and she’s another one of our senior leaders," said Redding. "She’s a captain and she’s just trying to make the most out of every moment out there. We know that she’s a shooter and what I’m most impressed with now is, she’s really assertive in going to the basket and she’s confident in having the basketball. That carried us through, too."
Since that come-from-behind win over the Panthers, the Lady Vikings throttled Trinity 63-39 Tuesday night and improved to 9-3 overall, while maintaining a perfect 6-0 mark in the NCL’s White Division.
In the win over Trinity, Lee scored 12 points, including two 3-pointers, while Kline returned to form with 18 points after just 14 in limited action against Elyria Catholic.
2. Crestwood senior Paige Nemec has made quite a name for herself on the wrestling mats across the state of Ohio. Last week, she became the first Ohio girl to register her 100th career varsity victory. She is 100-30 overall, with 99 of those wins coming against boys. A season ago, Nemec won a match at the district tournament, another first for Ohio girls. Nemec wrestles in the 103-pound weight class.
3. Pickerington North forfeits win. Because of an error with the paperwork on an inter-district transfer player, the Pickerington North girls basketball team will forfeit one of 12 wins, dropping its record to 11-1 overall. Pickerington North was ranked No. 1 in the first Ohio Associated Press Division I poll.
4. Regina still going strong. Despite heavy graduation losses and word of their school closing down once the year is complete, the Regina Royals girls basketball team continues its march to end their run with a championship. After an early-season setback to Division II powerhouse Hathaway Brown, the Royals recovered nicely and played particularly well in this past weekend’s Classic in the Country VII at Berlin Hiland High School. The Royals were 56-35 winners over University (N.J.) in their first game and closed the weekend with a 53-33 win over Mason. Florida State signee Tay’ler Mingo scored 33 points in the wins, while Nirra Fields tallied 37. Fields had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds against Mason.
5. Walsh Jesuit earned a 50-36 win over fellow Division II powerhouse Kenton Ridge at Classic in the Country VII. Sophomore guard Rachel Theriot had a big part in the win. She scored 22 points and handed out eight assists. In regard to her ability to shoot the ball and set up her teammates, Theriot told the Akron Beacon Journal, "I’d rather pass it."
Top performers
* St. Edward boys basketball players James Price and Matt Stainbrook. Price scored 11 points, blocked four shots and pulled down seven rebounds in the Eagles’ 59-54 win over rival St. Ignatius on Friday. Stainbrook scored 17 points for the Eagles.
* Milford sophomore Beau Robinson had quite a day at the 27th Annual Southwest Ohio High School Swimming and Diving Classic. Robinson, one of close to 3,000 athletes at the event, completed back-to-back runs to the 50-yard butterfly championship with a record swim of 23.81 seconds. Robinson was second in the 100-yard butterfly and was on four relay teams.
* Noelle Yoder transferred to Hiland from neighboring West Holmes High School to be closer to home and win championships. Behind Yoder’s 21-point effort in a 65-52 win over Mason in the final game of Classic in the Country VII, the Hawks are on their way to another postseason run. Yoder needed an MRI on her left knee and doctor’s clearance before playing in Monday’s game.
Looking ahead
* The Massillon Jackson boys basketball team is off to a great start, but will learn what kind of players it has on the team when it hosts the Randy Montgomery-led North Canton Hoover Vikings Friday night before traveling the next day to Huber Heights Wayne.
* The Orrville Red Riders boys basketball team could make a nice climb up the Ohio Cardinal Conference leader board with a solid showing this weekend. The Red Riders host Wooster on Friday night at 7:30, and travel to league-leading Mansfield Sr. on Saturday night. Orrville trails both Wooster and Mansfield Sr. in the league standings.
* Euclid at Mentor boys basketball Friday night. This matchup features two of the top teams in the Cleveland area and is a rivalry for both schools. With the close proximity and solid competition between the schools, this promises to be a fast-paced game. Mentor comes into the game undefeated, while Euclid has been bested only twice and comes in on the heels of a 72-38 win over Warrensville Heights on Tuesday.
Recruiting news
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Colerain junior running back Tyler Williams has been offered a scholarship from Kent State University. Williams ran for 893 yards and eight touchdowns while helping Colerain to a Greater Miami Conference co-championship this past fall.
Matt's minutes
The Classic in the Country was an idea to honor a fallen coach by holding a celebration of basketball and diversity. In an Amish community, coach Perry Reese Jr. captured the hearts of the people with his commitment to the players on his team. He earned the respect of those in the small town of Berlin, Ohio and since his passing in 2000, Hiland High School has built a Community Center that bears his name. To measure the effect Reese truly had on the community, all one needs to do is look at the basketball coaches at Hiland.
Girls coach Dave Schlabach, a former co-worker of Reese, and younger brother Mark, the boys coach, carry on a tradition of very rarely letting players talk with the media until the state tournament. Though at times it is frustrating, the tribute to Reese and focus solely on team goals is why Hiland has created a dynasty of excellence in Division IV basketball.
Matt Florjancic currently works as a freelance reporter and sports announcer for WOBL and WDLW.
