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Story Written by Joe Magill
What turned out to be a great tournament run has come to an end for Lakewood’s girls basketball team.
After winning two games that nobody outside of the program expected them to win, the Rangers finally came up against a juggernaut Tuesday, falling to Brush, 66-42, in a Division I district semifinal at Perry High School.
Don’t be fooled by the final score. Lakewood was down by just 10, 39-29, in the final minute of the third quarter but then completely ran out of gas in the final period, which opened with a 21-3 run by the Arcs.
“Nobody expected us to be here,” said Lakewood coach Julie Work. “But the belief that these kids showed toward the end of the year was second to none. I’m so proud of them as a team.”
Lakewood, which bows out at 12-13, opened the tournament by defeating Twinsburg, 46-42. The Tigers had a record similar to that of Lakewood but played in the ultra-competitive National Division of the Suburban League, playing teams like Solon, Stow, Wadsworth and Hudson twice each. All four of those teams reached the district semifinals, and all but Hudson will play Friday for a district championship.
Next up for the Rangers was Walsh Jesuit, which was dispatched by Lakewood, 54-50. Last year the Warriors made it to a district title game before falling to Canton McKinley, and this year they were seeded No. 33, compared to Lakewood’s No. 41 designation.
But the No. 5 Arcs proved to be too much for Lakewood to handle.
The Rangers kept things relatively close for almost three quarters and led for most of the opening period. With leading scorer Delaney Garcia being the obvious target of Brush’s defensive gameplan, juniors Layla Smith and Elizabeth Doup took up the slack in the scoring, with each scoring four points in a stanza that ended with the Arcs on top, 12-8. With Smith hitting a short jumper and a layup and Doup adding another layup, Lakewood had leads of 4-1 and 6-3.
“You have to give Lakewood a lot of credit,” said Brush coach Demarris Winters. “You could tell they watched film on us, and you could tell they were ready to play. They did a good job.”
With the Rangers holding a 7-6 lead with 2:08 remaining in the first quarter, Brush went on an extended run that lasted until a little more than 3 minutes into the second quarter. When the run was over, the Arcs held a 23-10 lead on their way to a 24-14 halftime lead.
Garcia came alive in the third quarter, scoring nine consecutive points for Lakewood to keep the Rangers within striking distance. The senior finished the night with 12 points, tops on the team.
However, Brush’s dynamic duo of freshmen Tatiana Mason and Chaniyra McDowell-Isaacs took over the game in the waning moments of the third period and then into the fourth. Mason, who led all scorers with 21, scored 13 consecutive points for the Arcs and then McDowell-Isaacs added seven of her 18 points as Brush exploded for 25 points in the final period.
“Their speed kind of caught up to us, and their rebounding,” said Work. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make some shots. They’re a good team. Their quickness is lethal. It’s really impressive.”
Brush will play Rocky River in the Perry district final Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Pirates won the nightcap over No. 11 Boardman, 52-42.
