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Just who are the Rocky River Lady Pirates this season? The team that struggled against GLC favorite Elyria Catholic, or the team that thrashed North Olmsted 57-8 earlier this week? Well, we got a really good look at them today when they beat new conference rival Westlake 41-35 in the Demons gym.
It pitted two of the very best defensive teams in the GLC against each other, and just as we all figured, it lived up to the hype and was a super tight contest throughout in which points were hard to come by.
The Pirates new that the Demons could go into certain shooting funks at times and decided to play to the strength and make them shoot out of quality zones all game long. It didn’t matter if it was a 2-3 or even a 1-3-1, the Pirates stayed committed and where they needed be to lockdown Demon shooters.
The Demons struggled from the field all day, and the Pirates kept the heat on. Westlake was paced by junior sensation Morgan Kress 10 points, while Lydia Tymoszczuk came off the Demon bench to score 9, all of which were from long distance.
In fact, Westlake only made 10 shots all game, and 6 of them came from long range. Those 18 points from deep were vital for the Demons as it kept them in the game. The other 17 points came on just 4 other made buckets and 9 foul shots.
The Pirated didn’t exactly light the world on fire shooting either, but sure made the shots when they needed to, including clutch foul shots down the stretch. The Pirates were led by Sophia Murray with 11 points, including the key foul shots late. Helping Murray and the Pirates was Natalie Swallow who had 10 while Ava Patti had 9.
This game was tight heading into halftime with the Pirates clinging to a 25-20 road lead. The Demons are known to be a second half team, and have been for several seasons, dating back to the Karen Swanson Haan coaching days. This time however, it was the Pirates who came charging out of the gates in the second half with a commanding third quarter.
The Demons simply couldn’t score in the quarter, and the Pirates extended their lead to 35-23 after a 10-3 stretch of basketball. The Demons would eventually get back in it in the fourth but couldn’t pull off the comeback.
I’ll say this, while critics may have had plenty to say about Westlake switching to the GLC, but their out of conference schedule was a buzz saw against Medina, Highland and Stow in losing efforts, and they are playing teams like Rocky River very early into the GLC season. You can say what you want about a 2-4 record for the Demons, but that doesn’t reflect how good this team actually is.
Meanwhile, Rocky River is red hot at 6-1 and it is very much legit. This team can play defense and guard the key with the best of them. With their ability to force turnovers and also score down the low, the Pirates will be a tough team to beat this season.
