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Lake Ridge Academy posts dominant victory over East
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(23) Chelsea Bennett of East goes to the hoop as (21) Erin Maldonado tries to keep her from scoring during thier game Monday night in Youngstown. (13) Sharday Baines and (20) Martha Thompson are in on the play.
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(21) Ashlyn Baker of East is fouled by (35) Monet Saunders during thier game Monday night in Youngstown.
Lake Ridge Academy posts dominant victory over East
YOUNGSTOWN
The bus line name said it all: Precious Cargo.
The bus that brought the Lake Ridge Academy Lions from North Ridgeville definitely had something to protect: a tall, strong and rangy roster of mostly former South Euclid Regina players.
That pedigree made for a tough night for the East High girls basketball team, which put up a battle for most of the first half before leveling off and losing against the talented Div. IV opponent, 85-41, Monday night.
Monet Saunders led the visitors (14-4) with 19 points, while Martha Thompson had 13 and Davonna Bradford 12.
Alexa Hart had only six points, but the 6-foot-7 player’s presence played an integral part in Lake Ridge’s offensive dominance and disrupted the flow of East’s offense many times as did the Lions’ pressure, both full-court and otherwise.
All 13 players who made the trip scored for the Lorain County school, which forced the Panthers into 35 turnovers.
Hart had several of her team’s eight blocked shots or deflections.
“They played us hard and were very athletic,” Lake Ridge coach Keesha Allen said of East.
“It was worth the travel on a Monday evening because they played us tough,” Allen said of the early challenge from the Panthers. “But our athleticism eventually allowed us to take charge.”
Chelsea Bennett equalled Saunders’ game-high 19 points for East (6-12), whose coach knew they were facing a respectable program.
“We’re always trying to make our schedule tougher,” Tanisha Franklin said of Lake Ridge Academy, a K-12 co-ed college prep school that may not have had enough players to field a squad if not for the infusion of eight former Regina players and another transfer, Stephanie Vukotic.
Allen is a first-year head coach with Lake Ridge after serving as an assistant at Regina, which closed.
Thompson also had 12 of Lake Ridge’s 51 rebounds and five of her team’s 25 steals. The visitors made 31 goals and 20 of 29 free throws to East’s 15 goals and 10 of 16 night at the foul line.
“They have a great deal of talent, including several Division I prospects,” Franklin said of the Lions. “I thought we played well the first two quarters before they started pulling away. Their defensive pressure was too much in the third quarter,” Franklin said, a statement underscored by East’s four-point quarter that left the Panthers trailing, 66-30.
“Their press didn’t allow us to get into an offensive flow,” said Franklin, whose Panthers don’t play against until Feb. 17 at Fitch and then again against Chaney on the 19th.
What did Franklin’s girls learn from Monday’s big loss?
“Hopefully, we’ll play the whole 32 minutes,” the coach responded.