Oakwood 60 Northridge 25 in SWBL action
It was the first game to christen the new gymnasium at Northridge High School, and it was a Southwestern Buckeye League battle between the host Northridge Polar Bears and Oakwood Lumberjills. In past years, Oakwood has been a competitive team…
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Continue ReadingIt was the first game to christen the new gymnasium at Northridge High School, and it was a Southwestern Buckeye League battle between the host Northridge Polar Bears and Oakwood Lumberjills. In past years, Oakwood has been a competitive team in Division 2, and they showed good things against Northridge, who is working to turn their program around after some rough years.
Oakwood jumped out to a 19-point lead after the first quarter, and cruised to a 60-25 victory as 12 players scored for the Jills. Some takeaways from the game:
Game MVP- it was difficult for me to pick a game MVP in this contest due to the fact that everyone played a lot of minutes which in this type of game was good for the kids to get some added experience. Nobody scored a lot but I thought while she was in there, junior Margie Conrath had a solid all-around game with eight points, four rebounds and a pair of threes. Conrath is a solid guard with good court awareness and can score from many angles. Shoots well from the perimeter and can get to the rim.
Offensive Player of the Game- Nobody stood out offensively in this game, but the one kid who caught my eye with her play off the bench was the production of sophomore Olivia Grant. She came off the bench and scored ten points to lead everybody in this game with a variety of shots. Scored from the perimeter and in transition.
Defensive Player of the Game- Oakwood senior Kylie Neff (5-foot-10 wing) did an outstanding job defensively when she was in there. She was aggressive to the ball and forced her opponent into mistakes. Always seemed to be around the ball and create havoc.
Northridge Stretch of the Game- It came in the fourth quarter trailing 54-16, as they came out and really controlled a three minute span where they outscored Oakwood 7-0 behind the scoring of Leslie Lane (5-8 senior) and a three point shot by Diamonique Story (5-7 junior). The game was out of reach, but the kids didn’t quit and controlled that part of the game.
Run of the Game- the entire first quarter was a big run for Oakwood, as they scored the games first 18 points to set the tone. Conrath scored eight seconds into the game for the Jills and they never looked back.
Key passer- it was good to see Oakwood senior Kylie Foos back out on the court after having to deal with injuries for a lot of her career. She saw the floor very well as a point guard, pushed the ball in transition and did what a true point guard is supposed to do, find the best shot for her team. Good leader on the floor, and has signed with Wittenberg for next year.
Off the Bench- the kid who impressed me the most off the bench was Oakwood’s Grant. She had a stretch in the first quarter where she scored the majority of her points. She hit a pair of three’s within a minute span and really played well as Oakwood built their lead.
One to Watch- Northridge had a 5-5 sophomore Maycee Harris who wasn’t flashy but really worked hard on the floor. I liked her motor and effort as she scored a season high six points. Her numbers aren’t gaudy by any means, and she likes to shoot the three which I like her aggressiveness trying to get the team going.
Intangibles- What a beautiful new gymnasium in a brand new school for Northridge. I would have thought the seating would be a bit more, but the gym itself is tremendous and both scoreboards were state of the art. Coach Michael Paige has some work to do to get them into contention with the rest of the SWBL, but his kids work hard and that’s half the battle.