Kenston's girls basketball team traveled cross-town Jan. 11 to face their rival Chagrin Falls Tigers.
Game photos click here.
Kenston’s girls basketball team traveled cross-town Jan. 11 to face their rival Chagrin Falls Tigers.
In a close contest throughout, the Bombers pulled away in the final minutes to claim the game, 37-27.
“Just ecstatic and proud of our girls, that we could escape here with a W playing in a tough gym,” Bombers Coach Kevin Hinkle said. “Really happy with how we executed. We had some seniors step up, (and) some other players gave us some great minutes.”
The Bombers were led throughout by seniors Brooke Pagon and Hanna Busby.
Pagon led the Bombers with 16 points, while Busby added seven.
“Brooke and Hanna do a great job,” Hinkle said. “Brooke always plays some (great) minutes. She wants to have the ball in her hands at the end.
“Hanna does a lot of things that don’t always show up in the stat sheets. Both lead by example. Both are hard workers and great kids. I was really happy with the way they performed today.”
Pagon scored all of the Bombers’ first-quarter points as the two teams were tied 6-6 at the end of one.
The second quarter continued similarly to the first, with both teams playing very tough defense.
Kenston took the lead, 10-8, on a clutch three-pointer by junior Alexis Black with 3:35 left in the second quarter. The Tigers regained the lead, 11-10, but the Bombers had one last second-quarter possession. Running a motion offense, they played for the last shot, and Busby found freshman Morgan Cicek open for a catch-and-shoot three-point buzzer-beater to give the Bombers a 13-11 lead going into halftime.
“That nice three by Morgan heading into halftime really gave us a nice little boost of confidence,” Hinkle said.
During his halftime speech, Coach Hinkle emphasized staying focused on the process.
“I said keep doing what your doing: making it tough for them,” he said. “We told them to just keep executing, keep doing the game plan.”
The Bombers responded by taking a 25-19 lead into the fourth quarter, and they outscored the Tigers 12-8 in the final eight minutes, with Pagon hitting a three and the Bombers converted nine free throws to get the victory.
“Coming into this, we knew they had a 12-game winning streak,” Pagon said. “We wanted to defeat them. It’s a rivalry. We came in strong, our coach believed in us, and we executed today.”
Added Busby, “We were really determined. We really wanted that win. I think we really played well as a team.”
Also contributing for the Bombers were Morgan Cicek (5 points), Emily Kratzert (4), Alexis Black (3) and Amy Jarmolowicz (2).
The Tigers were led by Kate Bartlett (8 points), Abby Coy (6), Lilly Stukus (6), Elana McGinnis (4) and Jenna Santamaria (3).
Both teams have a busy week ahead.
The Tigers take on Beachwood Jan. 19 and West Geauga Jan. 21.
The Bombers face Chardon Jan. 18 and Madison Jan. 21.
