MEDINA — Don’t mess with the power of pigtails.
Eight of the nine Medina girls basketball players who saw action Wednesday against rival Brunswick sported the popular girly hairdo — Abby Teske had a simple blonde ponytail, but that’s by design — because the superstition worked earlier in the week at Berea-Midpark.
Medina’s Margaret Swiecicki goes up for a shot against Brunswick’s Farrah Benner during the first quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)
Team Pigtail/Better Together naturally kept rolling with a 43-37 Greater Cleveland Conference victory over the Blue Devils, and forward Margaret Swiecicki was asked if the Bees will continue the fashion trend in their sectional opener against Parma on Feb. 18.
The projected senior class salutatorian laughed and responded “I think so” with confidence after Medina (14-8, 7-7) improved to an eye-popping 11-5 in games decided by six points or fewer and/or overtime.
“Like we’ve been doing all season, we’ve learned how to stick together at the end,” Swiecicki said. “It wasn’t always pretty, but a win’s a win and we all contributed in little ways.”
Swiecicki hit the nail on the head, as the methodical, defense-first Bees epitomized their season while getting revenge for a 41-38 loss to the Blue Devils (11-11, 5-9) on Jan. 6.
Emerging junior Delaney Cullen led all scorers with 16 points, including a step-back 3-pointer that finally gave the Bees breathing room at 33-27. Swiecicki (7 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals) hounded All-Gazette pick Farrah Benner (10 points), Jessie Holzman scored seven points in the second half and crossover-specializing freshman point guard Katie Neate played much larger than her 5-foot-1 frame and stat line of two points, three rebounds, three assists and three turnovers indicated.
Benner eventually got hot and her first 3-pointer of the night made the score 35-34, but a new hero emerged for the Bees when Emma Bobey followed with a three-point play with 2:27 left. Brunswick then committed a turnover, allowing Cullen and Holzman to ice the game at the foul line.
“Brunswick-Medina games are intense, and you never know how it’s going to go,” Cullen said. “We wanted it, and we closed it out in the end and did what we needed to do.”
Brunswick got a fantastic all-around performance from point guard Eileen Salisbury, who had eight points, a career-high 16 rebounds and three steals. Benner single-handedly kept the Blue Devils alive with eight fourth-quarter points, but the bench was even more important in the third quarter.
Benner was forced to sit after picking up her fourth foul with 3:16 left in the period — No. 3 was a ticky-tack hand check near mid court — and Medina leading 25-23. Then two-year starter Olivia Andrew exited with a possible concussion 2½ minutes later.
Through all of the adversity, Brunswick stayed around due to the play of starting center Paige Billetz (7 points, 4 rebounds) and backups Jessica Skrzypek and Angela Fink. It trailed 30-27 when Benner re-entered with six minutes to play.
“Our bench, you know what? They’ve come a long way because I don’t know in the beginning of the year this situation would have been the same,” Blue Devils coach Halle Lengal said. “I give them a lot of credit. Our bench players always have been people who show a lot of passion and pride in their team, and they were out there in a close game, a tough situation and they handled it really well.”
Ultimately, the Medina defense proved to be the difference, as Brunswick was 3-for-15 from 3-point range. The Blue Devils also were 4-for-22 from the floor in the second half before Benner drilled a 25-footer at the buzzer to make the final score a tad misleading.
Everyone involved agreed the Bees simply were the slightly better on this night.
“At the end, we just really tried to lock down on what we needed to do,” Cullen said. “Defense, I think, really got us the ‘W.’”
Note
Brittany Farley, Madison Luthy and Abby McMullen had six points apiece as Medina’s junior varsity won 38-27. Madeleine Ramicone had a game-high 10 points for Brunswick.
Medina 43, Brunswick 37
BRUNSWICK 8 11 7 11 — 37
MEDINA 8 11 9 15 — 43
Brunswick — Farrah Benner 3-2-10, Olivia Andrew 3-0-6, Paige Billetz 3-2-8, Gabbi Campbell 0-1-1, Eileen Salisbury 3-1-8, Maria Payne 0-0-0, Brittany Henke 0-0-0, Angela Fink 1-1-3, Jessica Skrzypek 0-1-1. TOTALS: 13-8-37.
Medina — Delaney Cullen 5-4-16, Margaret Swiecicki 2-3-7, Amanda Holzman 0-1-1, Jessie Holzman 2-3-7, Katie Neate 1-0-2, Emma Bobey 2-3-7, Anna Marie Smith 0-1-1, Abby Teske 1-0-2, Emily McLeod 0-0-0. TOTALS: 13-15-43.
3-point goals — Benner 2, Salisbury, Cullen 2. Rebounds — Brunswick 31 (Salisbury 16), Medina 26 (Swiecicki, Cullen 5). Assists — Brunswick 4 (Campbell Skrzypek, Salisbury, Andrew), Medina 8 (Neate 3). Records — Brunswick (11-11, 5-9), Medina (14-8, 7-7). Junior varsity — Medina 38, Brunswick 27.