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Olmsted Falls tipped off the SWC season with a convincing 52-32 victory over Avon tonight at home. Falls looked good, crisp, sharp, well coached, all the things you want to see out of the defending champs. They will have some tough competition in this loaded conference, but if tonight was a sign, they will be a tough out for anyone.
Leading the Bulldogs was Sophomore sensation Paige Kohler who lit up the nets for 17 points. Kohler had 13 of her 17 points in the second half, which actually outscored the entire Eagles roster who only scored 12 in the second half. To the Eagles credit, they played hard all night no matter the score and showed they too will be one of the top teams in the conference this year.
The Eagles weren’t done any favors by the officials in the first quarter as they fell into foul trouble quickly. The Eagles piled up 9 team fouls in the opening quarter which led to 7 free throw points by the Bulldogs. Those amounted to 7 of the 12 points they put up to take a 12-10 lead after one.
They spread it around nicely as Lauren Galaska had 5 of her 8 points on the night in that frame as well. Avon kept it close in that quarter despite the fouls with 5 from Abby Liber and a key three pointer early by Alyssa Peganoff. Liber would finish with an Eagle high of 13.
Speaking of Liber, despite the foul trouble she showed why she will be one of the best players in the SWC again this year. However, she picked up her third foul of the game only 10 seconds into the second quarter and had to sit the rest of the half.
The Bulldogs used that opportunity to take things over as Grace Simon went off. Simon scored all of her 11 points in the quarter as she got hot from beyond the arc draining a couple. Simon is a serious scoring threat when left open.
Simons huge quarter helped the Bulldogs build a 28-20 lead. The Eagles struggled to find scoring threat with Liber out. Kiley Williams led the Eagles in that quarter with 3 points off the bench and multiple rebounds.
The Bulldogs began to pull away for good in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 13-7 to extend their lead to 41-27 after three. Avon was held to 7 in the quarter as Kohler matched that with 7 herself. Also in the quarter it was Mia Kalich with a bucket and Lauren Noernberg draining one from beyond the arc. The ball rotation was excellent and they found several open shots to help pull away.
As mentioned, Liber put up 8 in the second half to do her best to keep the Eagles in it. It wasn’t enough however as the Bulldogs kept control of the pace and held the Eagles to just three in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs are known for a pesky defense and they did that tonight to grab the 52-32 victory.
A few notes and people to point out. Mia Kalich is going to be a player in this league for a long time. The Sophomore looked to be in midseason form tonight with lights out defense while putting up 8 points.
Allison Milligan also played tough defense while making several passes to find the open shooter. Lauren Noerberg played like a bulldog, size didn’t get in her way crashing boards and driving lanes.
Rest assured for Avon; the Eagles will soar this season as this one night will not define them. I mentioned Abby Liber and Kiley Williams a lot tonight, but with talents like Alyssa McLellon, Catie Geiger, Grace Santee and Brooke Laub this team will find their form soon. Early foul trouble killed them tonight as they had 12 in the first half which led to 12 points for the Bulldogs.
All in all, a great first night. Best of luck to both teams moving forward.
Nice article for both teams. Wevjust hope that we can go to some of the games