by The Normandy Invaders defended their home court tonight as the took care of the North Olmsted Eagles with a final score of 75-36. The Invaders played strong defense all game and were lethal in transition offense.
The first quarter ended with the Invaders up 16-11, however it felt like they were dominating. They played a suffocating pull court press and forced the Eagles to turn the ball over 13 times in the quarter. However the ball just wasn’t falling for the Invaders, and when North Olmsted was able to get over half court, they capitalized, making three 3 pointers in the quarter. The Eagles did a nice job of keeping themselves in the game even though it felt lopsided in the Invaders direction.
Normandy found their groove in the second quarter and finally started getting shots to fall, while keeping up their stout defense. The Invaders made six 3s in the quarter and started converting on their transition baskets. Junior and sophomore guards Keilei Anderson and Lindsay Meriwether were the standouts for the invaders in the first half. Both played physical defense and were the leaders when the team was in transition.
Meriwether found her stroke from the 15 foot line in the second quarter, finishing the half with 10 points. North Olmsted’s first half highlight player was senior Katie Strong as she scored 8 tough points in the paint. The half ended with a 45-24 Invader lead and Invader sophomore Ziley Millich sent them into the locker room with a bang as she drilled a 3 from the logo at the buzzer.
The beginning of the 3rd quarter was all Lindsay Meriwether. She scored 9 points in the first minute of the quarter and couldn’t be stopped on the fast break. Along with not being able to stop Meriwether, the Eagles had no answers for the Invaders zone defense. When they got past half court, they just couldn’t work the ball inside without an Invader getting in the passing lanes. Their offensive troubles led them to only 6 points in the quarter and with a 61-30 deficit.
The route continued in the 4th and all the trends of the game continued. The Invaders turned turnovers to points and excelled with great ball movement and isos from the guards. The game finished 76-36 with the Invaders getting the win.
The names of the game in this one were defense and turnovers. Normandy won the turnover battle forcing 30 while only giving it away 10 times. The eagles did a good job early in the game rallying and keeping it close, but ultimately the Invaders full court press and zone defense was too much to overcome. Once the Invaders started rolling on offense the game was over. The offense led by Lindsay Meriweather, as I said previously, as she finished the game with 21 points.
The Invaders improve to 12-7 as they travel to Buckeye on February 8th looking for another win against the Bucks. The Eagles fall to 7-13 as they stay on the road on the 8th where they play Rocky River and seek to get back into the win column.
