by WESTLAKE, OH – The Westlake Lady Demons used remarkable foul shooting to build a first quarter lead, and then pull away in the fourth with foul shooting as they defeated the visiting Berea-Midpark 55-45 Saturday afternoon. The Demons, went 21 for 25 from the line as it proved to be the difference. They sunk 9 fouls shots in the first quarter, and then 8 in the fourth quarter.
The Demons were led in scoring by Lydia Tymoszczuk and Eleanor Henton with 12 each. Jacaia Onunwor had 9 while Ireland Shea finished with 5. Taylor Kress and Rachel Nash each finished with 4 while Lauryn Stanton had 3. Colleen Urich, Ella Stanton and Sophia Blood all finished with 2 apiece.
The visiting Berea-Midpark Titans had strong efforts from Lauren Lantow with 9 and Reagan Braaten with 19. Lantow missed most of last season dealing with injury, but showed today in brief moments just how good she can be, Lantow is a difference maker for these Titans! As for Braaten, we are just getting started with this remarkable freshman as she shot lights out once again today. Also scoring for the Titans was Emma Arnold with 8, Riley Szojka with 2, Avery James with 5 and Casey Friel with 1.
The Demons raced out to a 11-0 lead in the early minutes of the game, thanks in part to 7 points from Lydia Tymoszczuk who scored in a number of ways. During the early barrage, she scored from behind the arc, hit a very long two pointer and also drained multiple foul shots. It was a fast start for the Demons that was eventually cooled by five straight Titan points from Emma Arnold. She then hit another shot from long range to counter a layup from Sophie Blood seconds earlier, and suddenly we had a 13-7 game on our hands.
Westlake finished it strong however and took a 20-11 lead after one quarter of play after another impressive run. In the quarter for the Demons, foul shots were the ticket as the Titans found themselves in foul trouble early and often. For the 8-minute stretch, Westlake went 9 of 10 from the line, and Tymoszczuk led all scorers with 9 points while Emma Arnold had 8 in that first quarter stretch.
The Titans used back to back three balls from Braaten and Lantow to start the second quarter to slice into the lead at 20-17 just minutes in. After another three from Braaten, Rachel Nash of the Demons would stop the run with a hustle layup to keep the lead with the Demons. It remained close at the break, with the Demons holding on to a 28-24 lead. It was a second quarter that saw Braaten nail one shot from near halfcourt.
Two foul shots by Lantow to begin the second half, immediately cut the lead to 28-26 in favor of Westlake. It remained closed all quarter as the Demons held a slim 40-34 lead after three. In the fourth, the Titans cut it to a 2-point game once again at 44-42 when some hot shooting led them on a 8-4 run out of the gate, capped off by an Avery James three ball, but the Demons would once again rely on strong foul shooting to pull out the eventual 55-45 victory.
Westlake will host Magnificat on Wednesday while Berea-Midpark travels to Elyria in SWC play.
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