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North Ridgeville toppled visiting Bedford tonight in a physical affair. The Rangers picked up the 62-34 victory thanks to excellent transition defense, and smart passing down low to players cutting.
Countless times the Rangers shredded the physical Bearcat defense for wide open shots at the basket. The Rangers played a great inside outside game to run away with it.
I fully understand it was the first game of the season for Bedford, but the Rangers made it look easy at times tonight. Also, as I mentioned, it was a total team effort for the Rangers as one of their better scorers is still out, while another, Rosado, was held to 3 points.
Rosado did a lot of things great on defense and passing the ball however to set up her teammates. It is not always scoring that gets the job done and Rosado showed she can do a lot of things even when she is not shooting. She continues to be a joy to watch play.
That’s not to say scoring isn’t important and fun to watch however, and the Rangers had plenty of it tonight! Leading the way once again was Grace Kingery with 23 points in only 3 quarters of play.
Up 54-21 to start the fourth quarter, coach Amy Esser did the smart and classy thing by taking her out or she could have had nearly 40 with the way it was going. She also nailed 5 more three balls tonight, putting her within reaching distance of the school record of 58 for a season.
Brynnley Kerr had a big second half with 7 points. Kat Crevda and Becca Bradley both had a solid presence around the rim tonight as they finished with 8 each. Brooke Lime had 6, all coming in the first half. Taylor Traut would chip in 4 while Abby Viancourt had 3.
It was 7-6 early when Bedford head coach Aaron Bower removed Jenaya Carlisle-Brooks from the game after a defensive lapse. Brooks had 5 of the Bearcats 6 points at that point in the first, and they would only score 2 more the rest of the quarter.
It didn’t matter who was playing for the Rangers however, as they worked as a unit tonight and got everyone involved. After being up 7-6, they finished the quarter on a 10 – 2 run to take a 17-8 lead. 6 different Rangers scored in the frame.
The second quarter ended any possible doubt at the outcome as the chance of a comeback was removed by the Rangers. North Ridgeville put the game away with a 16-2 quarter to lead 33-10 at the break. Time and time again as Bedford would try to figure things out, the Rangers just ran past them to bury one open shot after another.
After only scoring 3 in the first, Kingery got red hot in the second with 8 points, and two from long distance. She would really catch her stride however as she buried two more long balls in the third, to go with 3 normal field goals in a 12-point quarter for the Freshman.
The Rangers will now rest up and get ready to play Avon at home this Saturday afternoon.
