THE RAMS STAY IN THE HUNT
By Matt Maher
BERLIN CENTER, OH – Oh what a night! When Western Reserve welcomed Mineral Ridge to their fortress we all knew this game was going to be close but it was also just big since both teams came into this one tied for second in the MVAC Scarlet division and the winner would move on to own second place and allow them to stay one step behind Springfield for first. So knowing the stakes this game brought lets dive into the meat and potatoes of this fantastic matchup.
The first quarter started out fairly slow with only about 10 points being scored by the halfway point. It was clear something needed to change and thanks to the energy these kids had it didn’t take long for them to both start putting up points and get us to the score of 12-10 for the Blue Devils. Mineral Ridge saw Ava Hulett put up 4 points with Sam Aulet following behind her with a made 3 pointer. Western Reserve saw Angelina Cappabranea light up the hardwood with 5 points while Alyvia Hughes scored behind her with 4 points including 2 of 2 made free throws.
Mineral Ridge clapped back in the second where they would match Reserve’s 1st quarter tally of 12 and keep the Blue Devils to scoring just 8. Western Reserve saw Kylee Ramsey put up 3 of 4 free throws and Cappabranea added another 3 to her total. Mineral Ridge found money in the second with Sullivan Sandy dropping two 3’s and Kelcee Dye making 2 of 2 tosses from the charity stripe.
Western Reserve, down by 4 points after halftime came out swinging with a 5 point run that saw them take over the lead for a brief stint. Despite the explosive start to the half, Mineral Ridge managed to outscore Western Reserve 18-15 in the quarter. This quarter saw both teams rack up fouls quickly and was dominated from the free throw line. The Blue Devils went 9 for 12 as a team from the line including 4-for-4 from Cappabranea, 3-for-4 from Lisa Eichert and a solid 2-for-2 from Quincy Miller. Mineral Ridge struggled from the line only posting 4-for-10 as a team. Most of their scoring came from the paint with the exception of a 3 thrown in by Aulet.
Western Reserve needed to pick things up and they played a very tight and aggressive 4th that netted them 12 points to Mineral Ridge 8 which would allow the teams to tie 47-47 and force overtime. The Rams saw Gianna Gilbert score 4 more points on her night with the other 4 coming from both Hulett and Lilly Merolillo who both put up a 2. Western Reserve saw Hughes score 6 points with a 3 and a two pointer and a foul that allowed her to drain the and-1. Miller would also throw a 3-pointer into the mix.
Despite the great 4th quarter Reserve put up they couldn’t replicate the magic in overtime and only scored 7 points to the Rams 15. Isabella Mauro led her team in overtime with 4 points including 2 of 2 free throws cashed in. Ridge saw Aulet drop two 3’s and hit 1 of 2 free throws in the extra frame and Hulett found 5 points as well.
Mineral Ridge came out on top in an exciting game and their players showed it with four of them posting 10 or more points: Gianna Gilbert with 10, Sam Aulet with 13, Sullivan Sandy with 14 and Ava Hulett with 15. Western Reserve showed their skill but just ran out of steam at the end, they were led by Alyvia Hughes with 10 points and Angelina Cappabranea with 13. Mineral Ridge (10-1) (4-1) continue their road trip when they travel to Jackson-Milton on January 8th at 6:15PM and Western Reserve (6-4) (3-2) will hit the road when they play Lowellville on January 8th at 6:15PM.
