AVON — What a difference experience has made for the Avon Lake girls basketball team.
Two years ago, the Shoregals went winless for an entire season, and those who were on that team have not forgotten that feeling.
The sophomores from that team are now seniors and carried a chip on their shoulders into Avon's Eagles Nest on Wednesday night. With unusually strong free-throw shooting, the Shoregals (4-3) earned a 65-50 win over Avon.
"Having to percolate on this thing until Monday would've been tough," said Avon Lake coach Frank Coughlin. "We lost one game that was close where, if we made some foul shots, I think we would've won. It's a nice feeling."
In the victory, Avon Lake made 24 of 37 free-throw shots.
"We did a lot of things right that we haven't done all year," Coughlin said. "The biggest thing was, we made foul shots in critical situations. Before, I think our highest game was 52 percent from the line. For the year, we've been 44-of-112."
Defeating Avon gave the Shoregals their first road win of the season. They will play five of their next seven games away from the friendly confines of Avon Lake.
"The big issue with these girls is confidence," said Coughlin. "I even thought it before tonight, they come into games and they're not sure what's going to happen, rather than getting that mental attitude of, 'We're going to go out and do what we need to do.' They're hard-working kids. They seem to play well together."
One of the biggest factors in Avon Lake's victory over Avon was the play of senior forward Bridget Lyons. Lyons came up big with a six-point effort in the fourth quarter. Lyons went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final quarter and finished with a game-high 22 points. Lyons was happy with the win, especially after Avon Lake's last road trip to Avon.
"We needed to win this one," said Lyons. "Every opportunity there was, we had to take advantage of it and make it happen. Sophomore year when we played here, I missed a key foul shot that maybe would've sent us to overtime to get one win that season. I knew foul shots were important tonight, too."
As a team, the Shoregals shot 39.6 percent from the floor and hit three 3-pointers.
"She just makes a lot of players better," Coughlin said. "There are a lot of players that aren't able to do that. With her hustle and being able to dish off, it's a real tribute to her hard work."
In addition to Lyons' play, the Shoregals got a boost from sophomore guard Lacey LeDuc, who scored 11 points in limited action due to foul trouble. During the fourth quarter, LeDuc thought she picked up her fifth foul and started walking to the bench. However, the official whistled one of LeDuc's teammates for the foul and she was able to finish the game.
"I knew if I didn't control myself, I'd be on the bench the rest of the game," LeDuc said. "Playing last year really helped me realize to slow things down when they need to be and gave me the experience to be better this year."
"We had nine or 10 kids that contributed," said Coughlin. "I talked to the kids all last year. If they're on the team, they're going to play, and when they're out there, they need to play 100 percent and contribute, which is exactly what I want from them."
Matt Florjancic currently works as a freelance reporter and sports show host for WOBL and WDLW.
