by The Padua Bruins hosted the Normandy Invaders last night in front of a packed crowd. The game was tight early but eventually Padua would take control for the 52-40 victory. The win improves the Bruins overall record to 3-2 on the young season.
The Lady Bruins were led by the exciting Alyssa Weber with 19 points. I’d expect Weber to be a force in the Crown Conference this season. Lyuba Majerle used a solid transition offense to finish with 13 points. Sarah Hess sunk two from long range on her way to finishing with 8 points. The 6 foot plus freshman Eszter Dioszegi finished with 5 while Arianna Pomirleanu had 2 and Jaycee Schulte had 3.
For the Lady Invaders of Normandy, they also spread the ball around well as 6 players hit the scoresheet. They were led by Emily Queener with 14. Caylin Wagner had 8 while Emma Marvel and Summer Ibrahim both had 6. Devon Gyory had 4 while Abby Miloro finished the scoring with 2.
Seconds into the battle of Parma, (one of several) it was Sarah Hess draining a three ball to get Padua the first points of the night. It was the beginning of an extremely competitive first four minutes of the quarter that saw Padua jump out to a 10-9 slim lead. The Bruins were down 9-7 when Alyssa Weber nailed a three ball from the far corner to give the Bruins the lead.
From there, the lady Bruins would score the next four points to close out the quarter with a 14-9 lead. Lyuba Majerle had two steals and fast breaks for buckets during that stretch as well. The Lady Bruins used sharp defense to create numerous turnovers in the quarter.
The Invaders came out in the second quarter attacking by scoring the first 3 points of the quarter to cut the lead to 14-12 and force Bruin head coach Jay Valadez to call a timeout and think things over. The Invaders pressed out of the timeout, but the Bruins were ready for it and broke it, leading to a three pointer in the far corner again, from Alyssa Weber.
The rest of the first half would go back and forth, but the Bruins would take a 27-18 lead into the break. Weber made three from beyond the arc as part of her 13 points in the half. Also making an impression in the first half was Eszter Dioszegi who used her 6 for 1 inch frame to get plenty of rebounds and become a presence in the paint with 5 points.
An Emma Marvel three ball early into the third quarter cut the lead to 27 – 21 and gave the Invaders a bit of a spark. The spark was put out moments later as Lyuba Majerle would yank down a rebound and then go coast to coast with it for a powerful layup. I like what I see out of Majerle, while Weber will shine as a leader, Majerle is going to be a diamond in the rough and game changer if she keeps playing with the hustle she had last night.
Almost every time Padua would get a steal, they tried to run out with it and get a quick layup. A great transition team that can also play a solid halfcourt game, and hit the three ball is a staple of winning. It is also a staple of why Jay Valadez has been successful at every stop. Padua did this again last night!
Up 29-21, Sarah Hess forced a steal and got to the line. Despite missing her second foul shot, it was Majerle using her body to get position, get the rebound and do the smart thing by putting the ball right back up getting fouled in the process. She would split the pair, making it 30-21 with 5:17 to go. The Invaders would cut the lead to 36-30 with 1:53 to go in the quarter.
It was then that Padua Head Coach Jay Valadez assembled the troops in a time out. Whatever he said worked as the Bruins went on a 8-2 flurry to finish the quarter up 44-32. The run was highlighted by three balls from Jaycee Schulte and Sarah Hess.
The Bruins would go on to win 52-40. Padua could be tough this year, they have the tools. A few thing things they will need to work on is foul shooting, they missed 6 from my count. Also, finishing at the hoop, they have tremendous defense and transition defense to offense that will allow plenty of open looks. This is a good team with a ton of room for improvement, that transition style of play will take them far. It reminds me a bit of Olmsted Falls from last year. Good luck to both teams!
I watched the game on YouTube. How exciting. The Padua girls showed their power, keep it up. Congratulations Coach Jay. Great job.