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Danielle Cameron scored 24 points to help lead the Olmsted Falls Bulldogs to a 61- 40 District Championship victory tonight over the Strongsville Mustangs. Paige Kohler scored 17 with 14 of those coming in the second half to help keep the Mustangs corralled. The Bulldogs played like champions tonight, and that is what championship caliber teams do in big moments such as this one.
It was Lauren Noernberg hitting daggers from deep to keep the Mustangs from making any serious runs. Noernberg, finished with 11 points with 9 of them coming from beyond the arc. Mia Kalich was once again all over the court making things happen while finishing with 4 points.
Hannah Mahoney had some big minutes off the bench and sunk a three ball in the second quarter to spark a Bulldog run. The senior Sara “no H” Glover, once again dove for every loose ball while finishing with 2 points.
The Mustangs showed so much heart tonight and have nothing to hang their head about. They fought so hard tonight as Mackenzie Schulz had 13 points. Schulz willed them to stay in the game as 10 of those points came in the second half. She is only a junior, so look for her again next year in a big way.
The exact same thing can be said about Taylor Bass who had big shots throughout the night to keep the Mustangs hanging around. Bass finished with 19 points and had 11 in the second half. Sydney Bass finished with 4 while Ava Kadras also had 4.
All the scoring was nice, but it was once again the Olmsted Falls lockdown defense that made the difference several times tonight. This was clear in the opening quarter as Strongsville was held to just 5 points while the Bulldogs used 9 from Danielle Cameron and 5 from Lauren Noernberg to open up a 14-5 lead after one. The Mustangs didn’t score their first points until 2:28 was left in the quarter.
The Mustangs did get hot to start the second quarter with thee pointers by Taylor Bass and Mackenzie Shulz as they attempted to get back in it. They almost did until Cameron once again went off, DC went for 10 in the quarter, nailing shots from everywhere she took them. Some from the foul line, some from the three-point arc and some from the paint. This combined with back-to-back buckets by Mia Kalich, a long ball by Paige Kohler and an off the bench three from Hannah Mahoney brought the lead to 34-18 at half.
Any chance of a Strongsville comeback was put away quickly to open the second half as the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 run to start the third quarter. 7 of those 9 coming from Kee On Sports MVP Paige Kohler who began to take things over. Mackenzie Schulz and Taylor Bass combined for all 10 Mustang points in the quarter, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs took a 48-28 lead into the final quarter.
The Mustangs would get as close as 13 down in the fourth, but Paige Kohler took over once again and attacked the hoop at will. The game would finish with Olmsted Falls hoisting championship gold once again.
Congrats to every young woman who played in this game tonight. You never know who was in that crowd that watched you play hard, and you may have inspired them too! Not just at sports, but in life.