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What Avon Brings
They came back to defeat North Ridgeville on the road in overtime. They came back to defeat Midview on the road right after that. In the playoffs, they came back to defeat Wadsworth earlier this week. This is not a team afraid of winning a close game against a good team. They have always had the physical ability, and now there’s no question they have the mental ability. This team is playing with confidence and without fear, that’s what winners do.
They have the deepest roster in the SWC and it’s not even close. Abby Liber is a lead candidate for SWC MVP with her ability to score at will, by driving the lane and also hitting the step back three. Speaking of three’s, they hit 8 of them against Wadsworth and played gritty defense to make the lead stick.
Speaking of defense, that is where this team is going to need to play the game of their lives to stop that vaunted Bulldog attack. They have the weapons to do it as Catie Geiger is one of the best perimeter defenders in the conference. In fact, with her and Galaska playing at the same time, that is a defensive clinic for younger players to watch.
If Grace Simon and Paige Kohler start draining three’s, then the Eagles have the threats to match with Alyssa & Alyssa, Peganoff and McLellon that is. Both have been solid this year, and in their entire Eagles careers. But it is just not the seniors, both Brooke Laub and Ryan Clapham have shown they can do the same thing.
Need a defensive stop late? Anna Fitch has also proven she is as scrappy as they come and not afraid of the big moments. With Clapham out last week, she really stepped it up. That EXACT same thing can be said for Natalie Santoro who also played clutch minutes during that short-handed stretch.
Whether it is a pick and roll, or screens to penetrate the lane, the Eagles have the size and bodies to do it with Grace Santee, Kiley Williams and Molly Drenik coming off the bench. Santee is much more than size however; she had a beautiful shot from the elbow. The cupboard is far from bare in Avon, it’s almost an embarrassment of riches for head coach Meghan Larrick.
I spoke with the former JCU standout and now head coach of the Eagles who had this to say about her teams confidence level coming to this one, “The Lady Eagles are playing with great effort, energy, and excitement right now. We strive to be the hardest working team in each game we play. We will continue to do these things in the District Championship Game. “
Coach Larrick knows it wont be easy however, and had to say this about what her team is up against, “Olmsted Falls is an all-around excellent team who is very well coached. They are aggressive, fundamental, and very skilled. They are a very challenging opponent because they have so many threats offensively. They can attack the basket or hit the three-point shot.
Olmsted Falls beat us in the regular season twice. We have worked to improve on the skills and parts of the game that hurt us when playing them earlier in the season. We have also incorporated some new sets offensively and have been working on different defenses to try to utilize against them.”
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