Strongsville Girls Fall To Midpark, 51-34

A fast start proved to be the highlight of the night for the Strongsville girls basketball team as the Mustangs found themselves on the short end of a 51-34 setback to Southwestern Conference champion Midpark in a Division I district semifinal game Thursday night at Valley Forge High School.

With baskets from three different players in the opening minutes, the Mustangs grabbed an early 6-0 lead and retained an 8-6 advantage over the Meteors at the end of the first quarter.

Midpark then got control of the game in the second behind Rachel Theriot, who scored 12 of her game high 22 points in the quarter including her third 3-pointer of the session at the buzzer to give the Meteors a 26-17 lead going to the locker room.

But Strongsville head coach Jeff Eicher picked another member of the SWC champs as the key to the game that saw Midpark advance 20-2 and a spot in Saturday's district final against Magnificat (21-1).

"When they brought Kaila Barber off the bench, that made the difference," said Eicher, whose team finishes 14-8.

"With (Barber) on the floor they were able to turn up the defense. Theriot gives them a comfort zone offensively since it seems she is in control of the ball 80 percent of the time. But Barber gives them something extra. We didn't even know if she was going to play due to illness," he added.

The Meteors, coming into the third quarter with a nine-point edge, kept the Mustangs from getting it in gear as Strongsville was limited to a basket by Kelsey Warren over the first five minutes. Midpark used a 12-0 run to double the score on the Mustangs (38-19) before Mustang junior Carly Thomas hit a 3-pointer to break the Meteor string of points.

Holding a 40-22 lead at the end of three, the Meteors never allowed the Mustangs to get close. Both teams traded baskets, but were equally dismal from the foul line.

Strongsville and Midpark combined to go 7-for-35 from the foul line. Neither team was successful on any of the first 13 foul shots attempted in the game. Strongsville ended up going 3-for-18 while Midpark would fare 4-for-17.

The Mustangs had a team-high 11 points from Audrey Smolik and another nine from Thomas, but had no one else score more than four in the season-ending setback.

"They're quick," added Eicher of the Meteors. "They have a shot no matter who they play in the district final."

Behind the 22 points posted by Theriot, the Meteors also got nine from Barber and eight from Therany Dunnigan on their way to their second tournament win (they opened with a 74-44 win over Parma).

Before meeting up with Midpark, Strongsville defeated both Cleveland John Marshall (83-25) and Cleveland St. Joseph Academy (62-45).