Avon Lake aims to compete in the Southwestern Conference, which sent two teams to the Division I final four last year. With that comes guarding elite talent, including the likes of Brunswick’s Kent State commit Journey Hildebrand.
The first half seemed like a slowly building avalanche for Shoregals Coach Paul Appel. The Shoregals’ defense held the Blue Devils to 10 first-half points, and they went on to win, 70-30.
Avon Lake’s goal was to have a good start, which was accomplished by Izzie Polinko scoring seconds after the opening tip. The Shoregals led, 14-7, after the first quarter, but Appel said there was room for improvement.
“I thought we missed some easy things in the first quarter that stopped us from stretching (the lead) out,” Appel said. “The second quarter was kind of a slow avalanche. We kind of scored on every possession and we stopped (Brunswick) on every possession. There was never a moment that we got super hot. We kept making the right plays. That was evidenced by all of the different kids that were able to score tonight.”
The Shoregals outscored Brunswick, 28-3, in the second quarter, as 10 Avon Lake players found the basket on the night.
“I feel like it could go both ways, but I definitely feel like defense gets the offense going. If you get a good defensive stop, we can get up in transition. I think that is one of the best things to do on offense,” Avon Lake’s Izzie Polinko said.
Polinko and Olivia Miller each had 13 points to lead Avon Lake. Miller scored eight points in the second quarter, as it led the Blue Devils, 42-10.
“We trust each other. We can shoot it and we can score. We can all trust each other really well to score and shoot the ball,” Miller said.
Hildebrand was held to five points. Avon Lake’s team defense on the help side and on the perimeter was key.
“(Hildebrand) is such a good shooter and we knew that. We were tight on her,” Polinko said. “I knew that I had to be on her, or she’d shoot over my head. She is very tough, getting to the hoop. We had our help defense in. So, when she drove at me, we had everyone with our arms up and gave her a tough shot.”
Avon Lake avenged a 51-46 overtime loss last year against Brunswick. The Shoregals improved to 2-0 after a 59-21 road win over Lorain. Brunswick dropped to 0-1.
“I think we played really well tonight. I am not going to take anything away from (Brunswick),” Appel said. “They are still going to win a lot of games. Journey is an amazing player and they have some pieces around her. They are a good team and we want to test ourselves against good teams.”
Brunswick first-year coach Angela Flink said her team faced a learning curve against Avon Lake.
“(Avon Lake) played with a lot of chemistry and you can see that clearly. They all know each other really well,” she said.
Olivia Tobin of Avon Lake scored 10 points, and Evelyn Ritt knocked down two 3-pointers.
