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Despite coming in at 7-5, the Strongsville Mustangs were not to be taken lightly and they showed why tonight with a 53-31 win over Avon. Keep in mind that those losses were to teams such as Laurel, St. Joes, Magnificat, Nordonia and Medina. The Mustangs were battle tested and ready for a very good Avon Eagle team tonight.
The Eagles came out with a stingy airtight defense that held the high-powered Mustang attack to only 3 points in the first 3 minutes as they built a 6-3 lead. The Mustangs wouldn’t stay calm long however as they scored the next 7 as Reagan Bass had her way in the lane to make it 10-6 Strongsville before a Alyssa McLellon bucket would stop the run at 10-8. A Shelby Sallee hoop would give the Mustangs a 12-8 lead after one.
After a few missteps by both teams, it was Taylor Bass draining her second three of the night to extend the lead to 15-8. Moments later it was Kiley Williams working herself into perfect position for a put back bucket. The senior never stops working hard in the paint and it showed in that moment when the Eagles badly needed points.
The good times wouldn’t last for the Eagles however as less than 30 seconds later it was Taylor Bass draining her third three of the night to give the Mustangs a 18-10 lead. The rest of the quarter would go back and forth until the Mustangs took a 26-19 lead into the half. Taylor Bass led all scorers in the half with 12 as she buried 4 from long range and would finish with 14 points on the night.
Strongsville came out in a 2-3 zone which has given the Eagles fits at times this season. It worked against them again as the Eagles didn’t get their first points of the second half until only 4:19 remained in the third quarter with a beautiful jumper from Alyssa Peganoff from the elbow that was nothing but net.
It was a little too late for the Eagles however as the Mustangs had already used that stretch to score 11 straight to start the half, with 8 of those coming from Reagan Bass. She would finish with 19 on the night.
Any hopes of a Eagle comeback after the Peganoff jumper were short lived as back to back possessions led to buckets from the Mustangs Sophia Birch and Shelby Sallee. The two scores showcased what Strongsville did right all night. They penetrated the paint with little issue, and also had several transition buckets.
It was 41 – 21 Strongsville with 3:06 still to play in the third. The length and athleticism proved to be just too much for the Eagles to contend with. The quarter would end with Strongsville on top 43-23 and it was looking bleak for Avon. The Mustang defense was just too much and held Avon to 4 points in the quarter.
The fourth quarter was about even as the Eagles never let up, despite being down big. They can take that with them moving forward as a positive. As for Strongsville, they played perhaps their best game of the season on the road and looked very impressive as they came away with the 53-31 win.
The high scorers for Avon were Alyssa Peganoff with 11 and Abby Liber with 8. Strongsville will now rest until Friday Night when they host Stow. The Eagles will look to get back on the winning track Wednesday night as they will host Westlake.
