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Story Written by Joe Magill
Something happens to the Rocky River Pirates when the girls basketball tournament comes around.
Rocky River has only competed on the Division I level for two years, but, for the second consecutive year, the Pirates are going to play in a district final.
After jumping to a 17-0 lead less than 1 minute into the second period and taking a 29-6 lead into the halftime locker room Thursday, Rocky River had to hold for dear life in the second half, eventually taking down Boardman, 52-42, in a Division I district semifinal at Perry High School. The Pirates, 16-8, will play Brush at 7:30 p.m. Friday for the district crown. Brush won the opener Thursday night, taking down Lakewood, 66-42.
Leading the way for Rocky River was senior Ava Patti, who dominated the proceedings with 32 points, including 20 in the first half. She made 14 of her team’s 21 field goals and almost singlehandedly held off the Spartans in the fourth period, scoring 10 of her team’s 14 points.
“Ava’s special always, but, man, she was something tonight,” said Rocky River coach Jamey Pfahl. “She just put the team on her back once again. She was awesome.”
It was the second consecutive upset victory for the Pirates. Seeded No. 28 entering the tournament, Rocky River toppled No. 12 North Ridgeville last week, 45-42, and then defeated No. 11 Boardman in this one.
The Pirates built their big lead because of Patti on offense and the entire team playing lockdown defense. There were several extended possessions in which Boardman couldn’t even get off a shot before committing one of their 11 first half turnovers. The first quarter ended with the Pirates holding a 13-0 advantage, and by halftime the lead was up to 23 at 29-6.
“I loved how relentless we were in the first half,” Pfahl said. “Something clicked in the North Ridgeville game, and it carried over into the beginning of this game. It was special. The girls followed the gameplan to a T. It was something to watch. They were almost coaching themselves on the floor. We didn’t have to do a lot of coaching.”
But Boardman won 19 games this season to earn the No. 11 seed in Northeast Ohio, so the Spartans weren’t about to go down easily. They opened the third quarter with a 9-3 run, and by the time the period had ended, the margin was down to a workable 13 at 38-25.
“They came out right away, got three or four offensive rebounds, outhustled us, beat us to loose balls,” Pfahl said. “That’s why they came back. But what a lesson for us, to overcome a team like that in an environment like this.”
With Mackenzie Riccitelli scoring half of her team-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, Boardman kept battling, but the closest the Spartans could get was seven points, which they did twice, the second time at 47-40 with 1:41 to play. But Patti split two free throws with 1:17 to play and then completed a traditional three-point play with 29.6 seconds remaining to keep Boardman at bay.
Last year the Pirates were defeated by Magnificat in a district final. This year they have the task of taking on Brush, which is the No. 5 seed and has won 21 of 24 games.
“They’re a very good team,” Pfahl said. “They’re No. 1 in a lot of polls and they’re seeded No. 5 in the district. We always do things one step at a time, so we’ve got some film on them and we’re looking forward to preparing for them.”
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