WADSWORTH — Any concerns of a letdown were swatted away like circa 1996 Dikembe Mutombo.
For the record, there was no finger wag.
Sandwiched between a six-point win over Avon last week and a highly anticipated showdown with Magnificat tonight, Wadsworth’s girls basketball team started strong and finished stronger Tuesday in a 58-33 win over GlenOak at the second annual Believe Roundball Classic.
Wadsworth’s Jodi Johnson drives past GlenOak’s Mikayla Vance during the first quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)
Combining the first and fourth quarters, the Grizzlies (10-0) outscored the Golden Eagles (7-4) 37-11.
“That Avon game taught us a lot,” reigning Gazette MVP Jodi Johnson said. “(Avon was) definitely physical with us throughout the whole game, and we knew we couldn’t shy away from that physicality.
“We had to come out and be a little stronger. We knew (GlenOak) was going to play the same way.”
Adjusting well to the smaller but muscular Golden Eagles, six players scored as Wadsworth took a 21-6 lead after one quarter. The Grizzlies then went on a 10-1 run to begin the fourth to turn a semi-interesting game into a laugher.
No one put up gaudy numbers for Wadsworth, but a wide variety of players contributed. First-team All-Ohioan Johnson had 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, while center Peyton Banks continued her breakout season with a hard-earned 13 points and fellow backup Olivia Chaney added six points and five rebounds.
GlenOak got 11 points from bull-in-a-china-shop point guard Dai’Shona Polk and 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds from athletic power forward Payton Brown, but little else.
“Our defense definitely led into some of our offense in the beginning,” Johnson said. “Executing our plays definitely helped out as well.”
Coming off that hairy win over Avon in which they didn’t shoot 25 percent, the Grizzlies showed no ill effects and made 8-of-12 shots in the opening period. Sophia Fortner had seven points to lead the charge, but Banks, Chaney, Johnson, Lexi Lance and Laurel Palitto also found the scoring column as Wadsworth established pace and moved the ball well.
The middle quarters weren’t exactly basketball poetry — the Grizzlies shot 6-for-22, while GlenOak shot 10-for-20 to keep the score reasonable at 42-28 — but that’s when Wadsworth got refocused, as Johnson scored four quick points at the foul line and Banks completed consecutive three-point plays to push the lead to 23 points.
“What we learned from the (Avon game) was we really need to get the tempo going,” Banks said. “The second quarter we didn’t do that well, but in the second half we brought it back.
“We just played our game and the way we know how to play. We know that we have to play fast and really get things going.”
Notes
- Twinsburg upset Magnificat 51-46 in the opener. Center Jasmine Bishop had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers (6-2), including nine points in the fourth quarter.
Bruising power forward Elise Keshock had 16 points and eight boards for the Blue Streaks, who have lost two of their last three after an 8-0 start. - Reigning Division III Player of the Year Ashley Richardson pumped in 24 points, nine rebounds, six assists and six blocks to power undefeated Chippewa past Revere 58-37 in the second game. Star point guard Camryn Brown had 14 points for the Minutemen (4-6) in her first game back from a broken wrist.
- Behind 11 points from Molly Palecek, the Wadsworth junior varsity remained undefeated with a 42-24 victory.
Wadsworth 58, GlenOak 33
GLENOAK 6 12 10 5 — 33
WADSWORTH 21 6 15 16 — 58
GlenOak — Mikayla Vance 0-0-0, Payton Brown 5-2-12, Brooklyn Burns 0-0-0, Da’Vina Shelton 1-2-4, Dai’Shona Polk 5-0-11, Jade Abdulla 0-2-2, Nautica Haynes 0-0-0, Elana Maley 0-1-1, Sophia Cashner 1-0-3. TOTALS: 12-7-33.
Wadsworth — Jenna Johnson 1-0-3, Laurel Palitto 1-0-2, Lexi Lance 2-0-4, Jodi Johnson 4-6-15, Sophia Fortner 3-2-9, Olivia Chaney 2-2-6, Peyton Banks 3-7-13, McKenna Banks 0-0-0, Maddie Movsesian 0-0-0, Alexa Conley 1-0-2, Maggie Sonntag 1-0-2, Meggie Flanigan 1-0-2, Maria Busson 0-0-0, Emily Kurnot 0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-17-58.
3-point goals — Polk, Cashner, Je. Johnson, Jo. Johnson, Fortner. Rebounds — GlenOak 21 (Brown 9), Wadsworth 23 (Lance 5). Assists — GlenOak 5 (Polk 2), Wadsworth 10 (Jo. Johnson, Palitto 3). Records — GlenOak (7-4), Wadsworth (10-0). Junior varsity — Wadsworth 42, GlenOak 24.