At halftime, Chardon Coach Cullen Harris had a message for his team.
The Hilltoppers were leading by two points at over Geauga County rival Kenston, but the Bombers were in the midst of a 9-0 that spanned the end of the second and almost two minutes into the third quarter.
Harris told his team the only thing that mattered was how Chardon responded to Kenston’s scoring run.
“We challenged the girls to respond to adversity and handle the pressure,” Harris said.
His team took the message and challenge to heart, as a Jackie Bradley’s field goal with 6:15 left in the third stopped the run. Later in the quarter, Chardon responded with a 9-0 run of their own to take command of the game.
From that point on, the Bombers managed to score just three more points, as Chardon went on to win the Western Reserve Conference game 50-37.
“I think we played together and stayed focus together,” said Chardon junior Jackie Bradley about her team’s ability to survive the 9-0 Bomber run.
“We kind of got out of our game plan and out of our roles in the middle of the second and did a nice job bouncing back at the end of the second,” said Bomber Coach Kevin Hinkle. “I really liked our energy coming out of halftime and the beginning of the third.”
Kenston (3-6, 2-3WRC) played the Hilltoppers (6-3, 3-2 WRC) almost even in the first half.
Hinkle made a few adjustments to his starting lineup and senior Cailee Rendlesham provided a huge spark off the bench for her team.
Rendlesham, normally a starter, responded by scoring a team high 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
The effort by Rendlesham was not enough though.
The Bombers took the lead early in the third quarter, but couldn’t keep up with Chardon throughout the rest of the half.
“They did a good job,” said Hinkle. “They hit two or three in a row, which they are really capable of, and then we had good opportunities, but couldn’t finish.”
Hinkle lamented the missed shots. Had his team hit a few layups, the Chardon 9-0 response would have been 9-6.
Instead, his team trailed by 3 points after the third quarter and was held to a total of 3 points in the fourth quarter.
“I wish we played like that all the time,” Harris said of he’s team’s defensive effort in the final quarter.
Playing without the services of Tessa Ludwick, who was out with a sprained ankle, the Toppers were playing out of position and were struggling as of late.
“We’ve kind of been in a slump lately,” said Hilltopper senior Josie Cremeans. “We lost a tough one to Chagrin and have some starters out. Everyone stepped up tonight and did what they were asked to do and played hard.”
“I think everyone has done a good job stepping up and everybody doing their part helps our team win,” said Bradley.
Cremeans scored a game high 16 points to go along with four rebounds and two steals.
“Josie’s our returning scorer. She was all-district and all-conference last year,” said Harris. “16 points a game is what we need from her, it’s what we’ve been missing. I told her we need you to step up, we need you to score. She played well.”
“I slowed things down in the second half and was able to hit some shots,” said Cremeans, when asked how she overcame her first half shooting struggles.
Bradley added 8 points, five boards, two steals and one blocked shot. Kaitlin Kobuszewski chipped in nine points, while Faith DilLillo pulled down 7 rebounds.