KENT, OH— In a battle of seven-win teams, the Kent Roosevelt Lady Rider’s defense shines in a 52-40 win over the Crestwood Lady Red Devils. Roosevelt moves to 8-3 on the season, while Crestwood falls to 7-3. This contest was between two teams ranked within three spots of each other in the state. Early, it was clear the home side was looking to set the tone.
Early defense forced a fast break opportunity for the Lady Riders, who found Claire VanDamme inside to get the scoring started. Crestwood was able to answer at the 6:40 mark, when Maddie Dustman drained a two-point shot. A free throw from Danica Banks gave Roosevelt the lead early, and the already aggressive defense took it a step up. An empty possession for Crestwood led to a Julia Nash three, the sharpshooter’s first of the game.
VanDamme then showed off her interior defensive prowess, but Liv Martini eventually broke it for the Lady Red Devils to make it 6-4. Roosevelt returned fire by hitting three straight triples, a 9-0 run. Grace Schoenberger got the run started from the corner, then Nash hit two more triples to make it 15-4. The defensive prowess continued to show out, as the Lady Riders were somehow in every passing lane, and held a 17-8 lead after the first quarter.
Becca Brady got the scoring started in the second off a steal to cut the lead to seven. However, that led Roosevelt to engage their defense even more. They ballooned the lead to 12, as VanDamme hit a triple. Then, Crestwood cut the lead down to ten and then it was time for Roosevelt to play lockdown defense. The Lady Red Devils went almost four minutes without scoring a single point, due to the Lady Riders interrupting every pass and every offensive action Crestwood tried to execute. That defensive effort didn’t translate to much offense, but eventually Lindsey Wills created an aggressive drive to the rim to put Roosevelt back up by 12, but Crestwood put the lead back at 10 with some free throws right before the half. Kent Roosevelt led 25-15 at the break.
The two sides traded scores to open the third, and the exchanging of buckets lasted throughout the first half of the quarter. Then, for what felt like the first time, the Lady Red Devils offense ignited. With the score at 34-21, Hannah Ward got the run started nailing a two-point basket. Some free throws put the lead back into single figures, and the run closed at 7-0 after Becca Brady hit a three for her fifth, sixth, and seventh points of the quarter. That three ball was quickly answered by Schoenberger, who nailed a triple herself. Each team added a bucket to close the third with Roosevelt still holding a commanding the lead 39-30.
The offensive momentum from the last quarter continued for Crestwood. Roosevelt had trouble putting the ball in the net, and the Lady Red Devils took advantage. Brady hit a two, and the next possession Martini knocked in a triple to cut the lead to four.
The lead eventually went down to two, as Ward was able to put a shot home. It was immediately followed by Ava Elliott hitting a massive three to put Roosevelt back up by two possessions. Mahila Freidman added two more to stretch the lead to seven. Then, with 4:03 to play, things got chippy. Nash and Brady were jawing after going for a loose ball, and Brady dove on Nash, initiating a scrum on the sideline. Players on the floor came together, but the two sides were quickly broken up. Brady, who was leading the Lady Red Devils in scoring, was issued a flagrant two foul and was disqualified from the contest, a huge blow for Crestwood’s chances to complete the comeback.
The Lady Riders outscored the Lady Red Devils 8-3 the rest of the way to secure a 52-40 win on home court. Nash led the scoring for Roosevelt with 14 and was closely followed by VanDamme with 13. Brady, even with the ejection, led Crestwood with 15.
The Lady Riders are back in action on Saturday, Jan 4 against the Cuyahoga Falls Tigers. The Lady Red Devils will play the 10-1 Rootstown Rovers on the same date.
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