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Strongsville depended on quick ball movement to shift the 2-3 defense over to create open shots. This would cause the Titans to move to a full court 1-2-2 zone press to start the game.
Strongsville got off to a 13-2 lead early in the first quarter. The Titans would get a surge of momentum thanks to the hustle plays by Lauren Yee. Yee would get to the line and force turnovers to get the ball in the hands of her team.
This quarter would be a slug fest, both teams would be diving on the ground, and making hustle plays left and right. The score at the end of the first quarter was 13-7.
The second quarter would have the same pace as the first, Strongsville kept their lead thanks to Taylor Bass who led her team with 10 points at the end of the first half. Maddie Fortuna was right behind her teammate with a hard earned seven points.
For the Titans things would not come easy as they would continue to trail as we headed into the break. Braaten would score 11 points in the first half, this would sadly come with three fouls. She would create most of the scoring chances, out of 18 total points, Braaten scored 11.
The Start of the second half was fast paced thanks to two quick threes by Kierney Murphy. This would help tie the ball game, the Titans seemed like a new team in the second half. Quicker pace, better passing, rebounding would bring them closer to taking the lead.
The Mustangs wouldn’t give up their lead that easy as they would continue to fight and score by committee. The Titans would finally get the lead thanks to Braaten scoring 7 straight points at the end of the quarter making the score 35-33 in favor of the Titans.
The fourth quarter would be back and forth just like the rest of the game. Christina Greaves hit a two-point shot to start to quarter for the Mustangs while Yee would do the same for her team as she would go coast to coast and behind the back for the fancy finish.
Braaten would be on limited minutes due to being in foul trouble, that wouldn’t stop her from hitting threes as she would stay hot in the fourth quarter. With about three minutes left in the game the score would sit at 43-42 in favor of the Mustangs.
After a Basket from Bass for the Mustangs the Titans would respond with a game tying three from Lauren Lantow. Ava Kadras for the Mustangs would continue to stay hot in the quarter as she would score her seventh point in the quarter by hitting a three to make the lead 48-45 Mustangs.
With under a minute left the Mustangs would have the ball with a two-point lead. The Titans wouldn’t foul but instead go into a half court trap to get the ball back. This would be successful as a jump ball would go in their favor.
With 45 seconds left the Titans would go for a bucket but would get a turnover instead. Now with 18 seconds left the lead for the Mustangs would remain the same, as they would have the ball once again. The Mustangs would go to inbound the ball and would then turn it over due to a five second violating.
The Titans would have one last chance to tie the game, instead they would miss a layup and lose the rebound with two seconds left in the game. The Mustangs missed a foul shot with 0.6 on the clock giving the Titans one last chance at a miracle.
They would miss the last second shot sending the Mustangs to the next round of the playoffs. The final score would be 48-46 as the Mustangs barely get by the Titans.
The leading scorers for the Mustangs are Kadras with 11, Taylor Bass with 12, and Schulz with 10 for the victory. The leaders for the Titans are Braaten with 22 and Murphy with 8.
