Olmsted Falls prepares for postseason by defeating Gilmour Academy 64-35
OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio – Olmsted Falls looked every bit the part of one of the top teams in the state of Ohio on Thursday night in defeating Gilmour Academy 64-35.
The top seed in their district in Division I, the Bulldogs got off to a red-hot start by going on an 18-3 run after Gilmour scored the first two points of the game and led 28-18 after one quarter.
After each team struggled offensively in the second quarter, the Bulldogs found their way again to start the third quarter and scored the first 11 points of period to open up a 47-22 advantage.
Of those 11 points, nine came on a trio of 3-pointers after Olmsted Falls knocked down seven 3s in the first half.
The Bulldogs’ offense looked nearly flawless at times, as passes were crisp and accurate, moving the ball from one side of the floor to the other finding an open shooter. And when the shooter had an open look, the shot went down more often than not as the Bulldogs knocked down 13 3-pointers in the game.
“The girls have taken it upon themselves to become better shooters,” Olmsted Falls head coach Jordan Eaton said. “They have done a good job of that. I can’t take any credit for that. They have gotten together and decided that they never think there is such a thing as a good enough shooter, and they keep working on it. That makes it easier for the ball movement to happen because if you’re making shots, kids are excited for their teammates and a teammate sees another one open, you know how that goes, you get that kind of domino effect.”
The leader of the pack was senior guard Paige Kohler, who hit eight 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 26 points.
“My teammates were getting me involved and we just know when each other are hitting threes and we get them the ball.,” Kohler said. “It gives me more confidence and I know my teammates are confident in me to make those shots.”
On a couple of occasions, Kohler was shooting almost the instant the ball was in her hands, knocking down shots from a few feet beyond the 3-point arc.
“She has put in a lot of work on that,” Eaton said. “I can tell (how she feels) sometimes by how quick she shoots it. If she shoots it really quick, she’s feeling it. There’s zero hesitation and not even really looking around to see where she is. That’s how I know it’s going to be probably a fun night.”
Juniors Danielle Cameron and Jessica Wolanin each hit a pair of 3-pointers and sophomore Maddie Cerovec hit the other.
Mia Kalich was second on the team with 16 points in the game, while Cameron had 11, Wolanin had six, Cerovec had three and Erin Birch finished with two.
For Gilmour, Helen Holly had a team-high 15 points. She also posed problems for the Bulldogs in the paint early in the game as the 6-foot-1 junior was all over the glass in the first two quarters.
That was one of the reasons Eaton wanted to schedule this game – he knew Gilmour would present some physical challenges that Olmsted Falls would have to deal with as the Bulldogs make their way through the postseason.
“They have four or five drivers who are really good at it, they have two long athletic kids who can defend you in the paint and rebound,” Eaton said. “We put it on the calendar for a reason. We wanted a really tough, physical test before the tournament, and I think our girls really responded well.”
Olmsted Falls, the top seed in the Division I Northeast 5 district, will begin its tournament march on February 16th against the winner of John Marshall and John F. Kennedy.
Games like Thursday night give the Bulldogs a chance to see what they will be facing if they should get deep into the tournament as is their expectation.
“It will really help us down the road when we are playing those type of teams,” Kohler said. “We want to be in it as long as we can and getting the experience right before we go into the tournament really helps us.”
