Next-door neighbors Berkshire and Cardinal tangled Jan. 8 on a night in which Cardinal girls, from kindergarten on up, got to take the same floor as their high school heroines.
Next-door neighbors Berkshire and Cardinal tangled Jan. 8 on a night in which Cardinal girls, from kindergarten on up, got to take the same floor as their high school heroines.
Unfortunately for the home team, the Badgers took full advantage of their larger size this year to claim a thrilling 60-40 Chagrin Valley Conference verdict.
Berkshire Head Coach Dave Albertis is fortunate in his first year to have some height on his team, much as he offered his coach back when he played for Madison.
He also has a freshman post player who is extremely blessed skill-wise in Stella Bateman. Her presence was not unexpected by the Huskies, but her execution played a big role in Berkshire’s jumping out to a 13-2 edge midway through the first period — and the team never looked back, though Cardinal also never let up.
“The girls are really coming on strong within our system,” Coach Albert said. “In all of our losses, we’ve been right there in every game, but we are still making occasional mistakes that hurt. Turnovers kill us at times, and sometimes in close games we rush things too much, too.
“We’re just going to keep working on our offense, put effort into good defense, and so far, it’s working well.”
Three-quarter-court pressure from the Badgers forced eight first-period turnovers from the Huskies to forge that big lead, and with Blythe Bors scoring five points and Liv Masink and Bateman each adding four — the latter pair also spreading their large wingspans in the defense to force those turnovers — Cardinal did not get many chances to score, and the Badgers (9-4) took an 18-5 lead.
In the second period, Cardinal Head Coach Kim Domen’s sophomores — who took some lumps last year as freshmen but are much more competitive now — let everybody in the large crowd know they were not beaten.
The Huskies (5-7) turned up their own defensive pressure to ignite a 10-4 run that cut the lead to 25-19 on a Natalie Soltis baseline jumper. A 27-20 halftime deficit seemed to be in jeopardy, but a 14-3 run over the first five minutes of the third period, interrupted only by a 3-pointer from Soltis, led to a 41-23 score.
Bateman cemented this in the last period by taking over from close range. Her night ended with 16 points and 16 rebounds to go with four blocked shots, as the Huskies never let up attacking. Masink also provided inner defensive support, and at times Kirsten Shaffer got into the act. It seemed like the Badgers had trees all over the place.
Bateman’s efforts led the way, but Masink added 12 points and seven rebounds, plus a trio of assists and steals; Blythe Bors added 10 points; and Ivy Martin, the main ball-handler for Coach Albert and only a sophomore herself, tallied 10 points and dished for five assists in a balanced attack.
Coach Domen was disappointed, but knew what really caused her team to fall short.
“We beat these girls in junior high play a couple years ago, so we were not really too intimidated by their size,” she said. “Our biggest issue tonight was that we basically didn’t take good care of the ball. It’s just a mindset you have to take before a game — that protecting the ball and moving it well is important — and we didn’t do it tonight.”
The Huskies are loaded with underclassmen, and at times it shows, but they always battle to the end.
Ivy Kaminski paced the Cardinal attack with 15 points, six rebounds and four steals. Her second-half efforts, which meant her attacking the tall girls in the paint for the Badgers, was relentless.
Nove Young also had a solid night with 11 points and six rebounds, and Soltis finished with 10 points.
A key factor in the decision was perhaps most evidence in the final figures, as Berkshire won the battle of the boards by a 36-24 count. Seventeen of those 36 came on the offensive glass; when Cardinal’s defense made plays, the ball often ended up back in Berkshire hands and went in.
Each team was saddled with 24 turnovers for the game, a testimony to how good both squads played defensively.
