High school basketball: Westlake's Gina Adams rocks North Ridgeville in SWC matchup

WESTLAKE — North Ridgeville found a way to overcome Westlake's stifling defense when the teams met Wednesday night in a Southwestern Conference game. The bad news for the Rangers was no collection of mere mortals had a chance of stopping Westlake's Gina Adams. Adams, a senior Indiana University of Pennsylvania recruit, scored a career-high 36 points to lead the Demons to a 66-52 win. The 5-foot-11 Adams did it all for Westlake, going 12-for-15 from the field and grabbing 13 rebounds. She was also a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. "Honestly, when I got out on the court I never know if my shot is going to be on or off, I just have to be there mentally for my team," Adams said. "It doesn't matter if I have 10 points and 20 assists or 30 points and whatever else I can do to help the team, as long as we get the win." North Ridgeville (8-4, 4-4 SWC) had the Demons reeling in the first half. Leia Smith, Laney Rumancik and Daylan Baker all hit 3-pointers for the Rangers in the opening quarter as they tried to match Westlake point for point. Twice in the second quarter Rumancik scored to put North Ridgeville up by a point, the second time with a 3-pointer with 6:23 to go in the half that put the Rangers in front 25-24. The Demons (9-3, 7-1) ended the half on a 10-4 run to take a 34-29 halftime lead. Adams had 17 points at the half. "We did a very good job of getting open looks offensively and we had balanced scoring," North Ridgeville coach Any Esser said. "Defensively we wanted to double in the post and get that extra help. You've gotta hand it to a kid like Gina, she's just so strong and she can dominate a game." Although the Rangers trailed by as much as 20 in the second half they continued to battle until the closing minutes when both teams emptied their benches. "I absolutely love the energy and effort we brought tonight," Esser said. "That's a very experienced and well-coached team we faced and we knew that and our kids are kinda figuring it out. We didn't play scared. I can live with that." North Ridgeville's 52 points was the most Westlake has allowed in nine games in Ohio this season. Prior to Wednesday, the Demons had held every SWC opponent to 41 or fewer points. Smith, a 5-10 senior, led the Rangers with 12 points. Although she was disappointed with the final result, she was pleased how her team, with a freshman and two sophomores in the starting lineup, handled the pressure of playing in one of the toughest venues in the SWC. "We played hard, it was a really physical game and we didn't give up, that's what really matters to us," Smith said. "I'm so proud of everyone on this team right now. We were on our game but Gina Adams is phenomenal player and she gets to the line so well. You can't stop that." Rumancik and Westlake junior Emma Hall both scored all 10 of their points in the first half and were the only other players in double figures. Over the past two seasons Westlake coach Karen Swanson Haan has seen Adams have a number of big games but nothing quite like her performance Wednesday. "She's just a one-of-a-kind player. She works so hard," Swanson Hann said. "It's so nice to see her have a game like tonight but give North Ridgeville credit, they shot the lights out. That's why it's so great to have players like Gina and Abby Carrington who can say, 'Coach, I got this one.' And really put the team on their back when we're in a tight game." Westlake (16-of-18) and North Ridgeville (11-of-12) shot a combined 90 percent from the foul line in the game. Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.