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Garfield Heights, Ohio – It is a time of uncertainty in Ohio as a number of schools have hit the pause button on their athletic programs due to the ongoing pandemic. What was certain is that there was to be a clash of conference rivals on Wednesday night. The visiting Independence Blue Devils girls’ varsity team came to town and played some tight defense to upend their Chagrin Valley Metro Conference rivals the Cuyahoga Heights Redskins by a 39-32 margin.
The Redskins (2-1, 0-1) started off strong to begin the year. That had not gone unnoticed by the Blue Devils (2-0, 1-0) as despite it being early in the season this was a game that the entire team had been anxiously awaiting all day against their conference rivals.
The Redskins had been operating a potent offense to start the season undefeated. The Blue Devils came out playing a zone defense to start the game and it instantly gave Cuyahoga Heights all sorts of trouble.
“We didn’t shoot the ball very well. We had some good looks at times and then we chose to not have some good looks at times. We didn’t effectively attack the zone,” said Redskins’ Head Coach Al Martin,
Cuyahoga Heights may have been struggling on the offensive end but it showed why it was allowing just 22.5 points per game through its first two contests as they trailed by only a 12-8 score after the first quarter. Most of the Blue Devils’ offense came through senior Riccela DiGeronimo as she scored six points to give her team an early lead.
Cuyahoga Heights’ offensive struggles continued in the second quarter but the Blue Devils were having a tough time as well. Despite Independence driving into the paint a countless number of times it managed only two field goals in the second quarter. The Blue Devils were hanging on to a mere 18-15 lead at halftime.
Independence kept running implementing its zone defense in the third quarter and the Redskins just could not find any answers. It was as if their offense was stuck in neutral.
“We tried to mix-and-match. I do think it slowed them down a little bit because they’re very comfortable running their man offense so us trying to change up a little bit and throw in some zone and make them run something different might have helped us a little bit and slowed them down,” said Blue Devils’ Head Coach Mike Marcinko.
The Redskins scored just two points in the third quarter. A buzzer-beater three-pointer by junior Anna Weber gave Independence a ten-point advantage heading into the final quarter. Cuyahoga Heights didn’t fold under pressure as senior point guard Julia Harris stepped up and drained a pair of three-point baskets to bring Cuyahoga Heights back within just four points in the fourth quarter.
When the Blue Devils needed a spark it was Weber who answered the call. The Independence junior snuffed out the Redskins’ hot stretch of play with a pair of three-pointers of her own to push Independence out to a comfortable lead. That seemed to take the wind out Cuyahoga Heights’ sails as the Blue Devils sailed to victory.
It was a strong game for Weber. The Independence junior been active on both ends of the floor all game as she not only supplied offense with a sweet stroke from outside the arc but also cleaned up on the glass and was a force in the paint.
“I was shooting yesterday all day,” said Weber, “At least a thousand shots. I was hungry for this game.”
The Blue Devils had a goal entering the game and that was to remind the Redskins that if they wanted a shot at the conference title they would still have to go through the likes of the reigning conference champions to get there.
Sophomore wing Tess Conroy led the Redskins with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists. Harris was second in scoring with nine points, four rebounds and one assist. DiGeronimo finished with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Blue Devils. The Redskins will host Parma on Saturday afternoon while Independence will travel to face Cardinal on Friday night.
Independence Player of the Game:
Anna Weber: 14 points, nine rebounds and one blocked shot
Cuyahoga Heights Player of the Game:
Julia Harris: 9 points, four rebounds and one assist
