Just a few weeks before the start of the 2025-2026 high school basketball season, Chagrin Falls Head Girls Basketball Coach Brittany Laseak said that how much the Tigers hustled would be a main factor in their success.
Game photos click here.
Just a few weeks before the start of the 2025-2026 high school basketball season, Chagrin Falls Head Girls Basketball Coach Brittany Laseak said that how much the Tigers hustled would be a main factor in their success.
In addition, the importance of ‘Hustle’ was evident as this season’s returning players chose this word as their main theme for the year.
Because the Tigers had only ten players on this year’s varsity roster, Coach Laseak said that everyone on the team would have to be energetic, enthusiastic and give great effort in order for the Tigers to have success.
With a focus on hustling throughout the season, the Tigers performed well, matching last season’s regular season victory total of 13 wins.
And like last year’s experienced senior led team who focused on staying motivated, this year’s team with no seniors and just two upperclassmen hustled their way to an OHSAA Sectional Title, defeating the South Range Pirates, 47-40, on Feb. 21 on their home court.
Coach Laseak said that her team’s hustle was paramount in achieving a successful outcome over a senior led Pirates team.
“I feel like we played really tough basketball,” Coach Laseak said. “Bodies were flying on the floor tonight. We were getting on the floor for loose balls. Help defense, (was) collapsing in. We did a phenomenal job getting to the boards. Gabby Byrne was flying across the court to get rebounds. Everybody was putting themselves out there because they knew it was win or go home.”
Coach Laseak continued, “For a young group to take those lessons and take those lumps early and then apply it in postseason, you can’t ask for anything more than that.”
In reflecting upon the victory post-game, junior All-Ohioan Avery Russell also highlighted the importance of hustle and effort in winning the OHSAA Sectional Title.
“It was a super hard fought game,” Russell said. “We had to battle through it, we knew it was going to be a hard one. Every time we came out of a huddle we were like, ‘just give 100 percent’.”
After an intense hard fought first half, the Pirates led 23-19 going into halftime.
Coach Laseak said that the Tigers played well and with great effort in the first half, but the Pirates shot the basketball very well.
“They shot the ball extremely well in the first half and we knew we just had to weather the storm,” Coach Laseak said. “We’re playing with a young group, they have five seniors, (and) they came out ready to fight. We made some adjustments at halftime. I’m really proud of the way our team responded.”
A main adjustment that the Tigers made in the second half was to move Russell to point guard and Kay to the shooting guard position.
Coach Laseak said that she made this second half move since every time Russell got the ball in the first half, the Pirates were double or triple teaming her.
This strategic move allowed Russell to find Kay and Byrne for open looks and drives on the offensive end of the court.
“We were able to get the ball to Abby Kay and she knocked down some huge shots and we got Gabby (Byrne) off of the drive,” Coach Laseak said. “So we had the ability to get everybody to contribute because they can’t face guard her (Russell) when she has the ball in her hands.”
In particular, Coach Laseak emphasized how crucial Kay’s excellent offensive performance was.
“(Abby) does such a good job of getting her teammates open and she’s been an outstanding defensive stopper for us all season,” Coach Laseak said. “In the last couple of games she has been really working to get her offense going. She knocked down outside shots, she drove into the lane. She did it all for us tonight. I’m really proud of her effort.”
On defense, Byrne said that the focus in the second half was to continue to play with high intensity pressure and to try to not allow the Pirates to run the floor in transition.
“We were just saying really to break up their transition and their offense and just bring chaos to them so they couldn’t get set or get any good looks or drives,” Byrne said.
With the key second half tactical decision to move Russell to point guard, and by continuing toC play tough high pressure defense, the Tigers outscored the Pirates 17-5 in the third quarter to take a 36-28 lead.
Leading by eight points heading into the final quarter, the Tigers defense led by Olivia Kruse in the low post and Russell icing the game at the free throw line propelled the Tigers to a 47-40 victory.
“We knew they had to foul and so we worked to get the ball into her (Russell’s) hands,” Coach Laseak said. “There were points where they didn’t want to foul here and they had to because they had to stop the clock. She had ice in her veins, she knocked down her free throws and we were able to get stops on the defensive end and take care of the basketball in the home stretch.”
For the game, the Tigers were led by Kay (16 points), Byrne (13), Russell (13), Zoe Thompson (3), and Kruse (2).
The Tigers will next host the Southeast Pirates on Feb. 24 in the OHSAA District Semifinals.
