GAME PHOTOS: http://smu.gs/2gZlopM
With the game on the line, Tessa Ludwick tried to put her earlier missed foul shots to the back of her mind.
The Topper senior calmly stepped to the free throw line and, with 17 seconds left, split two shots to put Chardon up by a point.
Then a traveling call on Canfield, and a foul with less than a second to play, put Ludwick back on the charity stripe, where she sank both shoots to give her team a 54-51 win over the Cardinals.
“I knew I had to hit the free throws because I missed the critical ones,” Ludwick said. “I got the ball back and got my composure back and made the next one.”
Grace Bradley intercepted the inbounds pass with less than half a second to go to secure the win.
The win over Canfield (1-2) kept the Hilltoppers undefeated early in the season.
Playing their first game at home, Chardon (3-0) found themselves down by nine points in the third quarter.
A third foul on Canfield’s Serena Sammarone sent the talented sophomore to the bench.
It was at this point that Ludwick began to take over the game.
Shots that wouldn’t fall for Chardon in the first half finally began to go in the basket.
“I thought first half, we got a lot of looks we normally get and we told them to keep attacking the hoop with confidence,” said Chardon coach Cullen Harris. “The only difference between the first and second half is we started making shots.”
As Ludwick found success in the paint, she created room outside for her teammates.
“I felt like I had to attack the rim,” said Ludwick. “When I start to attack the rim, it opens up shots for everyone else and creates other shots that people can hit.”
Harris called Ludwick the best player in Lake and Geauga counties.
“She’s a hardworking kid and sometimes she doesn’t realize how good she is, so we have to keep prodding her to believe in herself,” said Harris. “When she’s going to the hoop with a purpose, it makes defenders have to make decisions.”
With momentum starting to swing toward the Toppers, Ludwick noticed sophomore Sydney Feller wide open in the left corner.
“When she drives, she opens up shots for the rest of us and that’s when we normally hit some threes,” said Feller.
“I know I can trust her to hit the open shots,” said Ludwick.
“She can shoot the basketball – a little sophomore who’s left-handed with a quick release,” said Harris. “The best part is she has a shooter’s mentality that the next one is going in.”
The Ludwick-to-Feller combination resulted in four three-point shots to put Chardon back on top.
The lead did not last long for Chardon, which spent the majority of the final quarter exchanging the lead with Canfield.
Thanks to Ludwick’s free throws, the Hilltoppers were able to open the home portion of their season successfully.
Ludwick led all scorers with 22 points. Feller added 14; Bradley chipped in with eight.
Ludwick also contributed six steals, three assists and five rebounds. “Kid’s a beast,” said her coach.
You can watch the game on-demand for free by visiting www.geaugatv.org.
GAME PHOTOS: http://smu.gs/2gZlopM