Lake County Sentinel
Rangers outlast Rebels in battle of three pointers 49-43
JOEY SCHNEIDER
STAFF
(WILLOUGHBY, OH) - The Willoughby South Rebels girls’ basketball hosted the Eastlake North Rangers on Wednesday. The rivalry between North and South is one of the greatest in Lake County and was on full display as both teams gave everything they had in one of the most thrilling games of this season.
North came out strong in the first quarter getting contributions from sophomore Maddy Ferrari and senior Alex Hamilton early in the game jumping out to a 4-0 lead. South's sophomore forward Olivia Pennington would answer back with two three pointers back-to-back to give the Rebels life. Eastlake North's sophomore Gillian Forwick would finish the quarter scoring the final two baskets and giving the Rangers the lead 8-6 going into the second.
The second quarter started with a shootout between the two teams as they were launching three pointer after three pointer. Eastlake junior's Ashley Mir and Kaitlin Dodiba each hit three's, while South's junior guard Sydney Isabella who battled an ankle injury all night that took her out of the game on multiple occasions hit two three's along with one each from Olivia Pennington and senior guard Caitlin Boruszkowski, who splashed her shot with a minute left in the quarter tying the game up at 19. Both teams’ defenses played tough in the last minute making sure neither would go into the half with a lead.
The third quarter was like a boxing match with each team throwing their best punches, going shot for shot and never letting one team get too far ahead trading leads back and forth. North's Kaitlin Dobida led the way for the Rangers with eight points in the quarter while South's Sydney Isabella matched her with eight points of her own. The third was a telling quarter as North's length was on display as they dominated the rebounding stats, while South was forcing turnovers and steals with great pressure. After the smoke settled the game was still in a deadlock 35-35 tie heading into the final quarter.
South senior forward Maddie Luciano battled hard in the fourth quarter fighting for every rebound she could get over the taller Ranger's team. Finally, the tie was broken at the 5:38 mark as North's Kaitlin Dobida made a shot, was fouled, and converted the three-point play, giving North the lead. The Ranger's would not relinquish it the rest of the game. Dobida was everywhere for the Ranger's in the fourth, pulling down rebounds, facilitating the ball, hitting shots, she was the star of the night for the Rangers in a game that was full of stars for both teams. Sydney Isabella scored six points trying to keep South close hitting a mid-range shot with :28 seconds left in the game pulling the Rebel's within three points, but North's Dobida and Hamilton would hit free throws putting the game on ice and North walking away as the winners, with a final score of 49-43.
South's head coach Chris Taglieri talked after the game about how his team played tough, but didn't get the job done. He knows the rivalry between the two schools and how much it means to the student athletes. He gave his team some encouraging words after the game as they will have another chance to get a win in the rivalry later in the season when they play at Eastlake North on February 5th.
The Rebel's captain and leading scorer with 21 points, Sydney Isabella talked about playing through her injury after the game. "I really wanted to dig deep because winning against North is something every sports team wants to do that. I just really wanted to put my all out and I think I did."
She then talked about what Coach Taglieri said to the team after the game. "He said take this energy we had today and keep it up, and they will have more wins in their future including our game at North."
Both teams played tough making spectacular shots when needed, with 13 three pointers made between the two teams. Both teams battled on defense with North having the edge on rebounds and South leading the way in steals. It was an all-time classic in the rivalry between the two schools, and the next time these two teams meet we just may get the greatest game ever played in the "Battle of the Border".
The Rangers will be in action next on Sunday when they host the Hathaway Brown Blazers (4-9) at 10 a.m. The Rebels will be in action next on Friday night when they host the Garfield Heights Bulldogs (7-6) 6:30 p.m.
POSTED 01/15/2025 22:58
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Photo by Joey Schneider
