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Nordonia girls cagers win title

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February 17, 2010

by Frank Aceto

Associate Sports Editor

Cuyahoga Falls -- The varsity game was only the beginning.

Hours after the Nordonia girls basketball team's date with Northeast Ohio Conference Lake Division rival Cuyahoga Falls Feb. 13 on the road, those same girls had to find their make-up and nail polish.

The occasion?

A big dance was scheduled that evening.

So once the game ended, the girls mostly likely rushed home to track down their favorite dresses.

But there was a small problem.

The junior varsity contest needed four overtime periods to complete.

In the end, though, everything worked out.

The Lady Knights scored a commanding 57-36 victory in the varsity game despite a shaky start and Nordonia also scored a tense 56-50 win in the JV epic.

Sure their schedules needed some major adjustments, but they may have gotten to their big dance right on time.

And they probably had a little more bounce in their steps when they reached the dance floor.

That's because the Lady Knights (16-3, 9-0) clinched their second straight division title.

"It feels really good," Nordonia head coach Gary Tipton said. "They are a great group of girls and we have great senior leadership."

Both teams appeared sluggish in the first half.

Not only did the Lady Knights have to contend with distractions regarding the dance and the JV marathon, they also had to deal with "Senior Night."

The Lady Black Tigers (6-12, 3-5) honored seniors Destiny Spencer, Ivy Meloy, Susan Thompson and Marina Pelemis before the game.

As a result of these circumstances, both teams missed a bevy of open shots, turned the ball over frequently and committed a considerable amount of fouls.

Nordonia did a slightly better job of surviving this massive struggle as the Lady Knights took a 23-19 advantage into halftime.

And then Nordonia showed why it has been the division's most talented program for the last two years.

The Lady Knights outscored Falls 19-8 in the third period to take a 42-27 lead into the final eight minutes.

Nordonia never looked back the rest of the way.

"The first half was not a well-played half by either team," Tipton said. "That wasn't unexpected with the JV game going four overtimes. We knew we had a chance to clinch the title and I was worried about a letdown. We played more like ourselves in the second half."

Guard Kelsey Shirey sure did.

She drained jump shot after jump shot from just about everywhere on the floor and finished with a game-high 22 points.

The Falls' players most likely won't be too anxious to see Shirey again anytime soon.

She finished with a game-high 19 points in a 48-46 win over the Lady Black Tigers earlier in the season.

Guard/forward Danielle Zuercher added 10 points for the Lady Knights and guard/forward Courtney Cole finished with nine points, despite a painful wrist injury she suffered earlier in the game.

Nordonia is scheduled to host division rival Valley Forge Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and is set to conclude the regular season at Maple Heights Feb. 20 at 1:30 p.m.

E-mail: faceto@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3914=




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