Girls basketball: Elyria downs Clearview in back-and-forth battle

SHEFFIELD TWP. — If you wanted exciting basketball, Clearview High School was the place to be Monday night. Elyria and the host Clippers put on a show, trading blows the entire way and finishing with a tense, back-and-forth thriller of a fourth quarter. In the end, the Pioneers came out on top, holding the Clippers off in the final seconds for a 52-50 win. "We needed this one," Elyria coach Tony Brown said. "It's a testament to these girls and how they rallied together no matter what." There were nine lead changes and four comebacks of seven points or more in the game. Elyria took the lead for good on a Toni McClinton jumper in the final minutes. It was her sixth point of the quarter. The basket gave the Pioneers a 46-44 lead with three minutes remaining. "I just played my game, that's all you can do," McClinton said. "I told myself to try to get to the basket more and stay aggressive." The Pioneers (2-11) had a 51-46 lead after another McClinton basket and a couple of free throws from Cora Sanders. That forced a Clearview timeout with 1:30 remaining. "We've had some tough fourth quarters this season but we came through tonight," McClinton said. As they'd done numerous times throughout the game, the Clipers came roaring back right when it looked like Elyria was finally in control. Clearview (4-4) scored the next four points in less than a minute, pulling within one. After forcing an Elyria turnover, the Clippers had the ball with 28 seconds left and a chance to win but turned it over, then missed a potential game-tying basket at the buzzer. Clearview missed five free-throws in the final three minutes and shot just 15-of-31 in the game. "We had our chances but you can't miss so many opportunities and expect to win," Clearview coach Nick Dimacchia said. "I thought we did a pretty good job on defense but we kept making mistakes with the ball. "I don't think we did a very good job of maintaining our composure today." The third quarter was just as crazy as the fourth, as both teams tooks leads, then squandered them. Clearview trailed by eight before going on an 11-0 run and eventually taking a 37-32 lead. Elyria came right back, scoring the final nine points of the quarter to take a 41-37 lead into the fourth. "I know we can make shots but it was nice to see the girls keep attacking the basket," Brown said. "We are a pretty good team when we're not being careless with the ball." A wild second half overshadowed a rather entertaining first half. Clearview seemed in control early, holding the lead until midway through the second quarter. The Clippers were up 22-17 early in the second quarter but scored just one more point the rest of the quarter. Elyria caught fire during Clearview's slow first-half finish, taking a 29-23 lead at the half. Taylor Mehl had 10 of her 17 points during the run, capping the Pioneers' push with back-to-back threes. "They started off in a zone and my coach told me to keep shooting so that's what I did," Mehl said. "All the girls were playing for each other, and my teammates were getting me hyped up." Mehl and McClinton took turns carrying Elyria's offense. McClinton set the tone early with seven first-quarter points and led Elyria with 18 points and four steals. Ariana Vazquez had 13 points and nine rebounds for Clearview while Kamia Pilson chipped in 12 points. "It was really fun out there with all the energy we were playing with," Mehl said. "Whether our shots were going in or not, we never stopped playing hard." Contact Paul Williams at (440) 329-71-35 or pwill0512@yahoo.com. Elyria 52, Clearview 50ELYRIA (52): MarChe Robinson 0-1-1, Taylor Mehl 6-1-17, Toni McClinton 8-1-18, Cora Sanders 1-2-5, Jae'Lyse Carmichal 1-3-5, Alaysia Ward 3-0-6, Jaden Robles 0-0-0. Totals 19-8-52.CLEARVIEW (50): Arriana Noble 2-1-5, Niyanna Flowers. 2-0-5, Kamia Pilson 4-3-12, Olivia Romes 1-0-3, Ariana Vazquez 3-7-13, LeAnna Rogers 4-4-12, Madison Pennington 0-0-0. Totals 16-15-50.Elyria 13 16 12 11 -- 52 Clearview 15 8 14 13 -- 50Free Throws: Elyria 8-13 (61 percent), Clearview 15-31 (48 percent). Total fouls: Elyria 22, Clearview 13. Turnovers: Elyria 18, Clearview 19.J.V.: Elyria, 42-15.