Cuyahoga Falls 58, Barberton 48
MEDINA: Cuyahoga Falls senior Logen Breehl was just too much to handle for Barberton, as the Black Tigers took down the Magics 58-48 in the first round of the Division I sectional tournament at Medina High School on Wednesday night.
Breehl controlled her territory near the hoop at each end of the floor, scoring a game-high 19 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Four of those rebounds came at the offensive end and resulted in baskets each time.
Breehl also fought constant double-teams but muscled her way to put herself in a position to receive entry passes.
“She’s always double-teamed and every defense we play always knows where she’s at,” Cuyahoga Falls coach Dennis Wright said. “She got in a position to make herself real strong at the beginning of the season, and you can see [that strength] now. I’ve coached for a long time and [her rebounding numbers] are kinda unheard of.”
Despite Breehl wreaking havoc inside and the Black Tigers holding the lead for most of the game, Barberton went on a run to start the fourth quarter and cut Cuyahoga Falls’ once 10-point lead down to two.
Then senior Calli Neumann, who recently returned to action following a foot injury, got hot.
Neumann poured in eight points in just over 90 seconds — two 3-pointers and a very long 2-pointer on which her foot was on the line — to all but end the game. She finished with 16 points.
“Halfway through the season I chipped a bone in my foot, so I was a little off my game,” Neumann said. “Today I just felt it and kept making my shots. It feels good to make my shots again.”
Barberton was led by juniors Emma Nilsson and Megan Jerome, who scored 15 and 12 points, respectively.
This is Cuyahoga Falls’ first playoff win in more than a decade. The Black Tigers will play Firestone on Saturday night at Medina High School.
Kenmore 105, Garfield 31
Kenmore turned its sectional game against Garfield into its own personal track meet, forcing 21 turnovers in the first half and downing the Rams 105-31 Wednesday night at Medina High School.
The Cardinals opened up a 36-6 lead after just the first quarter and cruised for the rest of the night.
Kenmore coach Yontami Jones looked at this game as a great chance to get her team back up to speed after several days off.
“Today was almost like a practice for us since we’ve been off for a little while,” Jones said. “We got our feet back underneath us now. We put the ball in the basket and are playing as a team.”
Senior Alexis Lee was lights-out from behind the arc and scored a game-high 28 points. Junior Porshae Hearn added 22 points.
Senior Charnae Coleman added 19 points, but more importantly, had another chance to get back up to full speed after missing a few games with a suspension.
“[Coleman] is almost there, just not yet,” Jones said. “Her effort is still there, we’re just trying to get her back to full speed. With her heart, she’ll get there.”
Senior Essence Bell also had a nice night, scoring 23 points.
Kenmore will advance to play Brunswick on Saturday night at Medina High School.
Jones is aware that should Firestone and Kenmore both win Saturday night, it’ll set up another City Series matchup. She’s also aware her girls are hungry for another chance at the Falcons.
“They are wanting to play Firestone, that’s for sure,” Jones said. “But we gotta get Brunswick first.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/varsity_letters/. Also follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RyanLewis83. Follow ABJ sports on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
