Girls basketball: Ridgeville beats Wellington to keep rolling
Bob Daniels | The Chronicle-Telegram
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — You’ll understand if girls basketball fans are still dancing in the streets this morning. It’s been a year or two since a North Ridgeville team has started a season with two straight wins.
But the Rangers are 2-0 today after coming from behind to defeat Wellington, 66-57, Monday night in non-conference action. If first-year coach Amy Esser were to pack it in right now, she’d retire as an undefeated head coach.
More likely, she’ll stick around and watch the fun.
“These kids have been in a rut the last couple years,” Esser said. “They really want to make a statement and change the program for the better. That’s what we’re trying to do and intensity is the No. 1 thing we stress.
“I think it’s showing. I’ve never seen the kids so intense on the court. They just wanted the game more. They were all over the floor. Out defense was scrappy, they were diving after balls and I’m very proud of them.”
Ridgeville trailed 30-28 at the break and 43-41 after three quarters despite taking their first lead of the night, 38-36, with just over a minute to go in the period.
But the Rangers’ pressure defense wore down the Dukes and Ridgeville put up 25 points in the fourth quarter. They won going away with Brianna Becker scoring eight points and Ashley Anderson six in the last eight minutes.
“Our bench came in big tonight,” said Esser. “Ashley, Brianna and Kayla Vidoni scored points off their defense with layups and fastbreaks. They really were the spark that pushed us ahead.”
The Rangers’ Kaitlyn Berghaus scored a game-high 17 points, Anderson added 13 and Vidoni 11. Morgan Brasee’s 14 points led Wellington. Cassie Gleisner finished with 13 and Katy Bowman 10.
“This means a ton because the last few years have been rough,” said Berghaus. “To be able to show people that we can work hard and come out here and win means a lot to us.”
It didn’t help the Dukes’ cause that three starters fouled out in the fourth, giving Ridgeville a huge advantage on the backboards. It showed in the statistics. The Rangers hauled in 52 boards for the night, 13 more than Wellington, 22 at the offensive end.
“Turnovers hurt us big-time tonight,” said Dukes coach Ron Clady, whose team fell to 0-2. “We definitely did not take very good care of the ball tonight. Our play was too sporadic. I think we tried to do too much.”
North Ridgeville 66, Wellington 57
Wellington (57): Jackie Bankston 0-0-0, Cassie Gleisner 4-5-13, Kristy Rollin 0-0-0, Monique Hyde 1-0-2, Morgan Brasee 6-2-14, Katy Bowman 3-4-10, Katie Stumphauzer 2-5-9, Rachel Suydam 1-0-2, Callie McConnell 2-2-6. Totals: 19-18-57.
N. Ridgeville (66): Hailey Schroeder 0-2-2, Kayla Vidoni 4-3-11, Kaitlyn Berghaus 6-4-17, Brianna Becker 3-3-9, Ashley Anderson 6-1-13, Kelsey Swindell 0-0-0, Alexis McGhee 0-0-0, Jenna King 1-2-4, Maggie Kachmarik 4-2-10. Totals: 24-17-66.
Wellington 18 12 13 14 – 57
N. Ridgeville 10 18 13 25 – 66
3-point goals: Wellington 1-8 (Bowman); N. Ridgeville 1-2 (Berghaus). Field goals: Wellington 19-55 (34.5 percent); N. Ridgeville 24-74 (32.4 percent). Free throws: Wellington 18-33; N. Ridgeville 17-29. Rebounds: Wellington 39; N. Ridgeville 52. Turnovers: Wellington 32, N. Ridgeville 30. Fouled out: Stumphauzer, McConnell, Bowman, Anderson.
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Filed by Bob Daniels | The Chronicle-Telegram December 2nd, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 4% |
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