It’s nothing new to Wadsworth’s girls basketball team.
The Grizzlies have grown accustomed to a late-season game with a Suburban League title on the line.
This time, Wadsworth (12-4, 9-1) will have to do it in hostile territory tonight when it travels to Green (14-1, 9-1) for the right to claim a 16th SL title in 17 seasons.
“Obviously the kids are excited, but it’s been more of a business-like approach,” Grizzlies coach Andrew Booth said. “In the first game we didn’t do as well, so we have to shore up those areas.”
The Bulldogs took the first meeting in a 59-56 thriller and used a variety of zone traps to keep Wadsworth out of sync and slow down its secondary break.
Green’s guard-oriented lineup caught the Grizzlies off-guard en route to a 17-13 first-quarter start, which was enough to hang on.
“Their lineup is so unique because they’re pretty much all perimeter oriented,” Booth said. “They’re tough to match up with and they use their quickness with trapping in their scheme.
“Their overall speed caught us off-guard. They secured a rebound, and it was like they had three girls running fly patterns.”
But the pride — and history — of Wadsworth basketball is at stake, so Booth knows his kids will be able to adjust.
“The seniors are taking it as a challenge,” he said. “They will have the young kids ready to play and we would like to see (the seniors) go out on a positive note.”
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BLACK RIVER (3-14, 0-11): When asked to describe the performance of standout power forward Chelsey Calhoun against Buckeye, coach Bill Roniger could only crack a joke. “Average day, huh?” the Pirates coach said with a laugh. “I don’t know what to tell you. Just when you think she’s good, she gets better.” That might be the understatement of the year as the senior pivot poured in 23 points and pulled down an eye-popping 22 rebounds in the loss. It was just another incredible night on the hardwood for the All-Gazette selection. “She was driving to the bucket, hitting shots and going back up with rebounds,” Roniger said. “It was not just one thing. She put it all together.” … Senior guard Brittany Lutz had a career-high 12 points in a loss to Wellington. … The Pirates will open the postseason on Feb. 9 when they take on second-seeded Orrville at the Wooster Triway Division III District.
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BRUNSWICK (11-4, 4-1): Revenge is sweet and the Blue Devils are hoping to get a taste when they travel to Mayfield tonight. Brunswick, which lost the first meeting 59-46, will be in a different situation this time as it will be full-strength as opposed to last month’s game, when the Blue Devils were without the services of posts Brooke Forsythe and Allie Martin. “They didn’t get to see the full squad is a better way to put it,” coach Paul Gerycz said. “We had to play with the hand we were dealt and they got us. I’m just happy to say we’ll be full strength.” Mayfield is playing some tough basketball, knocking off Northeast Ohio Conference power Solon this past weekend and winning nine straight games. Brunswick will have to contain standout center Lauren Gatto and guard Hope Mancini. The tandem combined for 51 of the team’s 59 points in the upset win over the Comets. … The defending Medina D-I District champs drew the third seed and will face the winner of Grafton Midview and Akron Ellet on Feb. 14.
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BUCKEYE (8-7, 6-4): What happens when you put a box-and-one defense on senior Jessie Hall? The shooting guard responds with her third-best scoring output of the season. The Bucks turned a one-point advantage in the fourth quarter into a 20-point win over rival Black River. Hall poured in 27 points in the 58-38 victory. … Buckeye’s schedule gets a little tougher in the home stretch. Coach Connie Rummell’s squad plays Keystone, Brookside and Clearview in its next three games — a trio of teams that have nine or more wins. … This season, the Bucks have moved from the Cleveland St. Joseph D-II District — a tournament they won in 2004-05 — to Uniontown Lake. Buckeye’s reward for moving to Stark County is a date with the winner of Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit and Mantua Crestwood. The matchup will most likely be against the always-tough Warriors on Feb. 16.
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CLOVERLEAF (5-10, 3-7): Coach John Carmigiano has his team going back to the basics to see if it can snap a six-game losing streak at home against SL bottom feeder Barberton. “We’ve been working on our fundamentals and getting better at man defense,” the Colts mentor said. “The girls are definitely hopeful in still going out and playing hard until the end of the year. We hope to get this thing turned around and work our way back to getting more wins before the tournament.” … Senior center Tara Kies has been on a scoring frenzy. The 5-foot-11 post has been in double figures the last three games and has seven games of 10 points or more this season. … The Colts will face a familiar opponent in their Akron Ellet D-I opener, taking on SL foe Green for the second straight year. The top-seeded Bulldogs took last season’s affair 56-40.
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HIGHLAND (3-13, 1-9): Since power forward Jackie Cook hurt her ankle and eventually transferred, the Hornets have had trouble finding an offensive groove. Highland, which averaged 53.2 points in the 13 games Cook was in the lineup, is scoring 35.6 points since the standout pivot left for South Euclid Regina. … Senior forward Abby Rorapaugh netted her first points of the season with a pair against Green. … In its first year as a D-I school, Highland drew the 11th seed at the Medina District. The Hornets will play district runner-up Amherst in a sectional semifinal on Feb. 11, with the winner to face North Olmsted or Avon Lake. … Highland’s remaining schedule has the team playing four SL games — three of which come against teams with three or less wins in league play.
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MEDINA (4-11, 1-4): For the last couple weeks, the Bees have had a “fresh” look. Medina has moved up four freshmen to get some quality varsity experience. Coach Mark Loomis brought up rookie point guard Sydney Thomas and gave more minutes to off-guard Taylor Burke to help out senior guard Emily Hulthen. Bringing up Thomas allows Hulthen to move to her natural position of shooting guard, while Burke will serve as Hulthen’s backup. Loomis is hoping the two ninth-graders will thrive offensively in the last couple weeks. “In the future they could both be big-time scorers for us,” he said. “Sydney is a true point and she can be surprising because she’s athletic and can score. Burke is more of a two and is a high jumper that can hit the three and take the ball to the hoop.” The tandem will join fellow ninth-graders Liz Hiteshue, who has seen time on the varsity throughout the year, and newcomer Devanny King, who played in her first varsity game Saturday. … Senior Erica Rigney broke her right pinky finger last week and will have it checked by a doctor today. … The Bees will face Stow in their sectional opener at Akron Ellet on Feb. 13. The Bees lost to the Bulldogs 65-40 earlier this season.
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WADSWORTH (12-4, 9-1): Since the Grizzlies played Stow last month, senior Chrissy Pavlik has taken a different approach to her game. The 5-6 point guard has become more aggressive and has found the right mix of getting her teammates involved, all the while finding quality shots for herself. “I think I’ve gained a little more confidence than I had,” Pavlik said. “It’s definitely a lot more fun to create the offense. Before I was just kind of initiating it; now I’m creating. When I attack, I open my other teammates up — if not go all the way to hoop.” Pavlik, who is averaging 11.1 points, has upped that to 17.8 over the last five games. … Wadsworth took the second seed at the rugged Akron Ellet District. The Grizzlies will open sectional action on Feb. 11 when they take on Akron Garfield. This marks the third straight season the schools have hooked up in tournament play.


















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