by Click here to listen – https://keeonsports.podbean.com/e/hs-basketball-avon-lake-at-westlake-girls/
**Photo courtesty of Ned W Lauver of Westlake High School
The radio call of this game can be found on Page Two
Corey Kroneker who is known for her rebounding, got off to a hot start scoring tonight as she scored the Shoregals first 4 points to spot them a quick 4-0 lead. Westlake got off to a sluggish start shooting and didn’t make their first basket until 3:31 remained in the quarter.
The Norris bucket made it 4-2. Both teams went back and forth from there as Kroneker led all scorers with 5, as the Shoregals led 9-6 after one. While there was only 15 points on the board, the foul shooting was solid as the teams combined to shoot 5 of 6 from the line in the opening frame.
Down 12-8 in the early moments of the second quarter, the Lady Demons began to strike. After two Abbie Gardner foul shots cut it to 12-10, Anna Williams got red hot. Williams started with a beautiful running underhand layup with her left hand.
A few possessions later, it was Williams draining a three ball to give the Demons their first lead of the game at 15-12. The teams would battle back and forth from there, but the Demons never surrendered the lead and thanks to four from Anika Norris, took a 21-18 lead into the break.
The tight defense and low scoring affair would continue into the third quarter that only saw a combined 3 points in the first four minutes of the half. With 4:11 to go, the Demons led 23-19 as neither team could seem to find the bottom of the net early on. Avon Lake would miss four straight foul shots over the next two minutes, that combined with a strong inside presence of Abbie Gardner, Katie Whitesell and Anika Norris, built the Lady Demon lead to 27-19 with 2:22 to go in the third.
I’ll say it again, when Whitesell & Gardner are out there together, good things happen for the Demons. Also, that inside presence of Norris is becoming a force. Between her and Morgan Kress, the Demons will be a tough out for anyone. Gardner, Whitesell and Norris had 8 each in the game, to combine for 24 of the teams 37 points.
Four straight points by Emily Yarham all coming in the final 30 seconds of the quarter would cut the Demon lead to 27-23 heading into the fourth. Yarham had all 5 Shoregal points in the quarter.
Down 29-23 with a little over 4 minutes to play, a Keely McGinty three pointer cut the Demon lead to 29-26 and made it anyone’s game. For McGinty, it was her second three pointer of the contest. A few minutes later with 1:52 remaining, the Shoregals trailed 31-26 when nailed McGinty nailed another three to slice it to 31-29 and give Demon fans sweaty palms.
Over the next 90 seconds, Katie Whitesell would make 4 of 8 foul shots to push the lead to 35-29. That’s when things got a bit zany as a loose ball was recovered in the corner right in front of Westlake head coach Cory Rojeck who was screaming timeout so loud you could hear him in Rocky River.
The official chose to ignore it, and the Shoregals cashed in with a full court Summerfield breakaway to cut the lead to 35-31. Summerfield was fouled on the shot, but couldn’t convert the three-point play. Anna Williams would make two foul shots on the other end for the Demons to put it away 37-31.
Leading scorers for Westlake
Whitesell 8
Williams 7
Gardner 8
Kress 4
Norris 8
Salem 2
Leading scorers for Avon Lake
Summerfield 4
Yarham 7
Kroneker 5
Knick 4
McGinty 9
Kwiatt 2
THE RADIO CALL OF THE GAME IS ON PAGE TWO
