by NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio – The Avon Eagles used their run and gun attack to continue to soar today with an impressive 67-58 at North Ridgeville against a very talented Ranger team. I spoke with Coach Maggie Ferrando about why this style been so effective and how the girls have bought in to it, “Ever since I came in here in April, we’ve been talking about that kind of style, I really think in June it was still new, but they began to take a liking to it. It is a fun way to play and get kids in as we make everyone a part of the game”.
Molly Drenik is back in full force this year and making plays all over the court, coach Ferrando had this to say about why Drenik is a gamechanger, “Molly is a total beast on the boards, and very unselfish as well. She hurt her ankle once, taped it up and still played, she is tough!”
Drenik finished the game with 15 points for the Eagles, as she had 14 of those points in the paint as she was a force down low. Anna Fitch has always been known for her incredible defense, but overtime, her offense has become a serious weapon as well. Fitch finished with 5 points and several key assists, while fellow senior leader Brooke Laub put in 8, including 6 points from long range.
Another reason the Eagles are so tough this year is the deep roster of scorers as several newer faces have stepped up big time this year. Names such as Era Bengu with 5, Amelia Holbrook with 11, Mackenzie Ptacek with 9 and Madigan O’Leary with 11 points. Saria Kittelberger finished the scoring for the Eagles with 4 as a total of 8 Avon Eagles found the scoresheet.
The Rangers put up 58 points, which 9 times out of 10 will win you the game, or get you a lot closer to winning it. They saw huge performances from Brooke Lime with 9 points from downtown in the second half as they attempted to comeback. Kat Crevda had 13 big points while Maddie Eldridge had 5 and Payton Palcisko along with CC Bouman and Kailey Shultz had 2 each. The Rangers were once again led by Grace Kingery who finished with 23 points and had 15 in the first half to keep it close.
Speaking of the first half, both teams brought everything they had and matched each other big shot for big shot for 16 straight heart pounding moments of thrilling girls basketball action. The momentum swung back and forth more times than a heavyweight prize fight. A thunderous finish to the quarter saw three balls drained by O’Leary, Holbrook and Fitch of the Eagles to counter the monstrous quarters from Grace Kingery and Kat Crevda of North Ridgeville, to land the Eagles on top 24-21 after one.
Things didn’t settle down in the second as the Eagles built a lead, only to see the Rangers comeback to tie at 30 after a Grace Kingery 3 ball. The Eagles would go on to lead 34-32 at the break. After the Eagles built a 7 point lead minutes into the second half, back-to-back three’s from Brooke Lime and Maddie Eldridge cut the lead to 1, but the Rangers would never be that close again as the Eagles began to pull away. They used a third quarter that saw 6 Eagles score to pull away 54-47 after three.
The Rangers would go on a mini run late into the fourth quarter, to pull it within 4 at 60-56, but couldn’t get any closer as the Eagles hung on for the 67-58 victory.
The Rangers will now host the Strongsville Mustangs Monday night, while Avon will host Olmsted Falls on Wednesday night.
I am really sorry this happened to you and hope whoever made the comment deletes it!!! Girls basketball loves all of your articles and we appreciate you and your team so much!!!
Great job on girls basketball coverage. I have two girls playing and really enjoy your articles. As well as all the other sports articles you post about high school sports in the Cleveland area. Go Kee On Sports !!!
Kee keep up the good work covering girls hoops. The girls love it. Don’t let the negativity emanating from Avon Lake stop what you are doing. Avon Lake needs to clean up its own house and it shouldn’t impact the great coverage you give all these girls. My daughter looks forward to reading your articles after every game because you guys do such great work!
I have known of Kee On Sports for several years since they covered my son’s football team at Lincoln West, at a time when NO ONE covered them.
McKee took the time to learn the players and coaches names and made them feel special. He even sent us a gift for his graduation. He is a good man, a rare person in many ways who would give the shirt off his back to someone.
McKee doesn’t bash kids, he doesn’t bash coaches, this man is as honest as the day is long. As I have followed his career, I’ve seen him bring his daughter to games, and just make every effort to always be a family man while chasing his dreams.
The comments being left on this post crack me up because clearly only a few of you actually read it. The comments are defending the coach or bashing him, not a single person has enough compassion or dignity to say,
“Hey Vince, sorry to hear about your Aunt, you’re in my prayers”. Not one of you.
Anyway, if you go back and read the actual article, the message is clear as day, he loves covering your children FOR FREE, and simply wants this coach to remove the twitter block. Instead, this coach is going to ruin it for young girls everywhere who deserve the coverage only Kee On Sports can provide. Ya’ll need to start treating this man with dignity and this Appel guy needs to issue an apology promptly!
Vince, WE LOVE YOU! Keep doing what you’re doing. When people ask you why you stopped covering girls basketball, simply give them the Avon Lake coaches personal phone number.
Kee on sports , I think it’s childish and immature that coach Apple would block you. Unfortunately we live in a society where we are not aloud to speak with out hurting someone’s feelings and criticize or critique. We raise our youth of today that everyone gets a trophy for participation. That’s not how life works. Sometimes life isn’t fair… but to block a writer for writing about the team you coach and giving these young ladies the press they deserve is not fair to them. I don’t know what else to say except maybe a email maybe a phone call or discussion between you to to see what the problem is. I hope it gets resolved so you will continue to cover girls hoops!
Thank you Kee on Sports
I would first like to offer a sincere thank you to Vince McKee and KEE On Sports. Our girls and our parents appreciate you, your team of reporters, and the coverage that you give to high school athletes in the area.
Our team and our Coach got trolled by a coward jackass hiding behind his (or her) shield of anonymity. Could it have been a disgruntled AL parent, perhaps, but more likely I feel it came from outside our community.
Coach Appel has hit the ground running since being hired over the summer. There is engagement and program building down to the 3rd and 4th grade levels. There is optimism and progress. The girls are learning, and Coach Appel is learning.
We went 6-16 last year and we’re currently sitting at 4-4. We upset North Ridgeville, we took Brunswick to OT and we gave Midview a scare earlier today. We have likely faced 6 or 7 future D1 or D2 players in our last 7 games. 5 of our top 7 girls in terms of minutes are underclassmen and the SWC should be wide open next season.
Our biggest issue, other than not having any D1 basketball players, is that we have an overabundance of girls that deserve playing time. There are 8 varsity girls that played AAU hoops over the summer along with several others that also put in the time to get better. Many teams we play would love to have that “problem.”
The “negativity emanating” from AL and the “clean up our house” comments above are comical. The negativity is not emanating from our program, it’s coming from some imbecile that doesn’t know basketball.
Sincerely,
Michael Summerfield, DO
I have known of Kee On Sports for several years since they covered my son’s football team at Lincoln West, at a time when NO ONE covered them.
McKee took the time to learn the players and coaches names and made them feel special. He even sent us a gift for his graduation. He is a good man, a rare person in many ways who would give the shirt off his back to someone.
McKee doesn’t bash kids, he doesn’t bash coaches, this man is as honest as the day is long. As I have followed his career, I’ve seen him bring his daughter to games, and just make every effort to always be a family man while chasing his dreams!
The comments being left on this post crack me up because clearly only a few of you actually read it. The comments are defending the coach or bashing him, not a single person has enough compassion or dignity to say,
“Hey Vince, sorry to hear about your Aunt, you’re in my prayers”. Not a one of you.
Anyway, if you go back and read the actual article, the message is clear as day, he loves covering your children FOR FREE, and simply wants this coach to remove the twitter block. Instead, this coach is going to ruin it for young girls everywhere who deserve the coverage only Kee On Sports can provide. Case in point, how many other outlets were at that Kohler girls 1,000 point game earlier in the week? Only KOS from what I read and saw. Ya’ll need to start treating this man with dignity and this Appel guy needs to issue an apology promptly!
Vince, WE LOVE YOU! Keep doing what you’re doing. When people ask you why you stopped covering girls basketball, simply give them the Avon Lake coaches personal phone number.
Vince,
You did nothing wrong, and the irony of these comments about “the coach being bullied” when in fact, he is bullying you by blocking you, is irony at its best. Did any of these people actually read the article? YOU ARE THE ONE BEING BULLIED! Also, prayers for your aunt. Kind of funny no one but Tyrone has chosen to mention that. You’re going through pure Hell right now, and all everyone wants to do is talk about a grown man getting made fun of. Shameful! Keep doing what you are doing Vince, not your fault these people cannot read. The “grown man” coach needs to take the block down, not rocket science. Instead, he is going to cost an entire area coverage. SMH! – Steve Cooper ( and yes, that is my real name!)