by GRAFTON, OH – The North Olmsted Eagles dominated the paint early and often with Mia Donald, and then hung on for dear life late, to capture the wild 54-53 victory at Midview this afternoon. Donald finished with 11 points, all coming in the key. Rose Lane got hot in the second half and finished with 10 to help the Eagles cling to the victory. Molly Tabar also finished with 11 and had clutch shots down the stretch.
Also scoring for the Eagles was Shelley Gray and Katie Strong who each had 6 while Julia Tahsin had 3. Lynne Farkas and Sarah Pullin capped the scoring for North Olmsted with 2 each. North Olmsted hung on for the one-point win, but it could have been more had they not struggled from the line, the Eagles went just 8 of 17 from the charity stripe. They made up for it with relentless attacking of the paint, and a ton of hustle.
Anyone who was quick to push the panic button on Midview after the season ending injury to the amazingly talented Liv DiFranco, may want to hold off on that panic, as this Midview squad is far from done. Leah DiFranco, the incredible sophomore stepped up huge today and appears to have all the skills to lead this team next! Leah, finished with 26 points, with 13 of them coming in the fourth quarter when she refused to let this team go away without a fight. If the game went one more minute, DiFranco may have won it for them, she was red hot.
She didn’t lead the near comeback alone however and appears to have some serious talent around her in the form of Erica Baldoza who had a monster game with 17 points. Hunter Crum may have only finished with 4, but I can tell by watching her play a few times this season that she is also on the rise and once this new look Midview team gets a few more minutes learning to play without Liv, they can be deadly come the stretch run.
The Eagles got off to a quick 8-2 lead by utilizing the inside game of Mia Donald and also a three ball from Shelley Gray in the early rush. They also got a bucket inside from Molly Tabar as well as foul shot to go in. Midview responded right back with big buckets from Leah DiFranco and Samantha Pebworth. The rest of the quarter bounced back and forth as the Eagles finished it with a 17-9 lead.
Three big shots by Erica Baldoza cut into the North Olmsted lead at 20-17 a few minutes into the second quarter. It was a big quarter for Baldoza with 7, but also Leah DiFranco who finished with 6 in the frame. The Eagles responded with three balls from Julia Tahsin and Molly Tabar, along with a few foul shots to keep the lead at 28-24 heading into the break.
The Eagles started the second half by continuing to feed their big down low, as Mia Donald had four straight points to open things up, extending the lead to 32-24. Later into the third quarter, a Rose Lane three ball gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game at 40-29 with 2:22 to play in the third. However, Erica Baldoza and Leah DiFranco just kept bringing it for the Middies, cutting the Eagle lead to 44-35 after three quarters of action.
Another hot streak by DiFranco cut it to 46-40 early into the fourth. Then, up 10 at 50-40, Mia Donald fouled out for the Eagles, and the Middies went on another quick 6-0 run to cut it to 50-46 as DiFranco stayed red hot! A Hunter Crum bucket cut it to 50-48, and without Donald in the game for the Eagles, the Middies suddenly couldn’t be stopped.
It remained nip and tuck, and the Eagles clung to a 54-51 lead with 37 ticks of the clock remaining. Another DiFranco basket made it 54-53 with 13.9 seconds to go. The Leah DiFranco show continued as she stole the inbounds pass after the Eagle timeout, and it set up the Middies with the ball, and a chance to win it with 10.7 remaining. The inbounds play came up empty however for the Middies, and the Eagles won a thrilling 54-53 game.
Great job lady Eagles , great job coach Turp huge win. My heart breaks for Midview losing there best player. There coach does a great job this will be the true test of a good coach . A little adversity, good luck to both . Great schools great coaches!