Twinsburg Girls' Basketball Team Rolls In Opening Round Game

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Honestly, now, you weren’t really expecting Twinsburg’s undefeated season to end in an opening-round sectional game against a four-win team, were you?

Apparently, the Tigers didn’t either as they had their way in plastering an overmatched Bedford squad, 75-25, on Thursday night at Warrensville Heights High School.

Nicole Carman had 18 points to lead the Tigers into a battle next Thursday against Warren G. Harding. The Lady Raiders won, 66-41, over Solon, one of Twinsburg’s great rivals, in the evening’s second game.

Twinsburg improved to 21-0 for the season, while Bedford finished at 4-16.

Ranked second in the Associated Press Ohio High School girls’ basketball rankings in Division I, Twinsburg was perhaps fighting the temptation to take Bedford too easily coming into the game.

Twinsburg coach Julie Solis kept her team’s mind on their ultimate mission with a subtle scheduling strategy, giving her Tigers a little more time to build anticipation.

“One of the reasons I like to take a bye, I hope, is that when we get to that game, we’re excited to play again.  Generally in the first round, you’re going to play a lower seed if you are in our position,” Solis said. “When we get to play again, they’re waiting for that next game because they’ve been off for so long.”

The Tigers pounced hard on the Bearcats, keeping them below 10 points for each quarter of the game, but they started a little slow in the opening quarter with 19 points.

In the second quarter, the Tigers lived up to their ranking and record. After surrendering an early five points, Twinsburg went on an 18-0 run to close the half. Katie Fox had a pair of three-pointers, including one at the buzzer, to help close out the half with a 44-10 lead.

From there, Leah Fechko and Carman took over. After Ashley Morrissette, who finished with 14 points, opened the second half with a steal and a driving layup, Fechko popped in two consecutive 3-pointers to widen Twinsburg’s lead to 52-11.

Carman scored the Tigers’ final seven points of the third quarter with a pair of buckets and a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Carman had paltry stat lines that were below double digits in her last few games.  She was more than happy to find the elixir that cured her ailing shots.

“I just practiced a lot more,” Carman, a gleeful senior, said. “And it finally worked out.”

Twinsburg faces a sterner test against the Lady Raiders, who are 17-5 on the season next Thursday. That game tips at 7:30 p.m. at Warrensville Heights High School.

Bedford: Ciara Herring 6, Darnisha Floyd 5, Taylor Ward 5, Tiara Anthony 4, Danyelle Chambers 2, Brandi Dean 2, Bianca Hall 1.

Twinsburg: Nicole Carman 18, Ashley Morrissette 14, Malina Howard 12, Katie Fox 8, Leah Fechko 7, Nichole Mabry 5, Lindsay Shirilla 5, Mercedes Hobbs 4, Char-dell Dunnigan 2.