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MADISON — Early in games, Gianna LaMarco will tell you she loves letting it fly from the perimeter.
But when the game is on the line, it’s all about her ability to dribble, drive, and knock shots down.
LaMarco had 11 of her game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Blue Streaks past Edgewood 66-65 in a key Chagrin Valley Conference Lake Division early-season girls basketball showdown Friday at Madison High School.
“In the first quarter, I was trying to get points off threes,” the sophomore guard said. “They started guarding the perimeter, my only option was to drive and finish when I could.”
With her team down 58-55, LaMarco took over, scoring the final 10 points for Madison (6-2, 3-0) on three pull-up shots in the paint, to go with a perfect 4 of 4 the free- throw line.
“She’s hard to stop,” Blue Streaks Heather Reho said. “She’s very talented, and she involves her teammates very well.”
But when it’s time to take over, her coach has no problem with her doing just so.
“She has a great inside game and outside game,” Reho said. “She’s very fast, she knows when to take the shot and when not to. I told her there are big gaps here, we have to take advantage of it.”
A year ago, the Blue Streaks handled the Warriors in a much more convincing fashion, winning 78-49 on their home court, then taking the rematch at Edgewood 61-52.
Both LaMarco and Reho knew this one would be no easy task, though.
“We knew they were going to be good,” LaMarco said. “Faith Vencill, Carly Kray, Annie Johnston, they’re all very talented. We planned to face-guard them, try to take them out of the game, and get the win.”
As it turned out, Kray had a career-high of 29 points,; however, she was scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Vencill had 21 points to go with 14 rebounds. Johnston scored just seven points, but six were on back-to-back 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter.
Warriors coach Randy Vencill, though, knew winning would mean stopping LaMarco.
“You’re just trying to keep the ball out of her hands,” the coach said. “When she does have it, you try to give her terrible looks. Sometimes, better players find ways, and she found ways tonight.”
The Warriors (4-2, 2-1) took a 58-55 advantage on a putback by Vencill with 6:35 to play in the fourth quarter, but then turned the ball over on six of the next seven possessions.
LaMarco’s jumper put Madison back on top 59-58 with just under three minutes to play.
Faith Vencill answered with a pair of free throws, but LaMarco came right back, earning a trip to the line where she put her team back on top with a pair of makes. Then after an Edgewood miscue, LaMarco drove for two more to put the Blue Streaks up 63-60
Vencill scored again off an assist from Kray, however, LaMarco, once again, got to the line to push the lead back to three.
Edgewood’s final points came when Whitney Reed was fouled on a 3-point shot. Reed connected on two of three free throws.
Madison nearly threw an inbound pass away, but survived the final seconds to get the win.
Randy Vencill said his team may have rushed a bit down the stretch, which may have affected their execution.
“What happens is you start trying to play too fast,” the coach said. “They needed to slow down a little bit, and run our stuff. But we started to hurry up a bit too much. We learned some things tonight, and hopefully next time we’ll be better.”
The second game between the two schools is Jan. 14 at Edgewood.
In the meantime, Edgewood goes to Conneaut for a conference game Tuesday night, while Madison is scheduled at play at North today.
Continue reading...
But when the game is on the line, it’s all about her ability to dribble, drive, and knock shots down.
LaMarco had 11 of her game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Blue Streaks past Edgewood 66-65 in a key Chagrin Valley Conference Lake Division early-season girls basketball showdown Friday at Madison High School.
“In the first quarter, I was trying to get points off threes,” the sophomore guard said. “They started guarding the perimeter, my only option was to drive and finish when I could.”
With her team down 58-55, LaMarco took over, scoring the final 10 points for Madison (6-2, 3-0) on three pull-up shots in the paint, to go with a perfect 4 of 4 the free- throw line.
“She’s hard to stop,” Blue Streaks Heather Reho said. “She’s very talented, and she involves her teammates very well.”
But when it’s time to take over, her coach has no problem with her doing just so.
“She has a great inside game and outside game,” Reho said. “She’s very fast, she knows when to take the shot and when not to. I told her there are big gaps here, we have to take advantage of it.”
A year ago, the Blue Streaks handled the Warriors in a much more convincing fashion, winning 78-49 on their home court, then taking the rematch at Edgewood 61-52.
Both LaMarco and Reho knew this one would be no easy task, though.
“We knew they were going to be good,” LaMarco said. “Faith Vencill, Carly Kray, Annie Johnston, they’re all very talented. We planned to face-guard them, try to take them out of the game, and get the win.”
As it turned out, Kray had a career-high of 29 points,; however, she was scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Vencill had 21 points to go with 14 rebounds. Johnston scored just seven points, but six were on back-to-back 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter.
Warriors coach Randy Vencill, though, knew winning would mean stopping LaMarco.
“You’re just trying to keep the ball out of her hands,” the coach said. “When she does have it, you try to give her terrible looks. Sometimes, better players find ways, and she found ways tonight.”
The Warriors (4-2, 2-1) took a 58-55 advantage on a putback by Vencill with 6:35 to play in the fourth quarter, but then turned the ball over on six of the next seven possessions.
LaMarco’s jumper put Madison back on top 59-58 with just under three minutes to play.
Faith Vencill answered with a pair of free throws, but LaMarco came right back, earning a trip to the line where she put her team back on top with a pair of makes. Then after an Edgewood miscue, LaMarco drove for two more to put the Blue Streaks up 63-60
Vencill scored again off an assist from Kray, however, LaMarco, once again, got to the line to push the lead back to three.
Edgewood’s final points came when Whitney Reed was fouled on a 3-point shot. Reed connected on two of three free throws.
Madison nearly threw an inbound pass away, but survived the final seconds to get the win.
Randy Vencill said his team may have rushed a bit down the stretch, which may have affected their execution.
“What happens is you start trying to play too fast,” the coach said. “They needed to slow down a little bit, and run our stuff. But we started to hurry up a bit too much. We learned some things tonight, and hopefully next time we’ll be better.”
The second game between the two schools is Jan. 14 at Edgewood.
In the meantime, Edgewood goes to Conneaut for a conference game Tuesday night, while Madison is scheduled at play at North today.
Continue reading...
