Girls basketball: Grace Kingery puts on show at home court in North Ridgeville

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Grace Kingery fed off the home cooking on Sunday. The North Ridgeville junior dominated the Lorain County Rising Stars game with 17 points in leading Team Mustang to a 60-35 win against Team Bronco on her home court. "I was just getting some shots up in my home gym," Kingery said. "It's fun to get to play with other people in the area. It's a great experience to get everyone together after the season. I'm excited for next year, can't wait." Kingery wasted no time getting into a groove, hitting four of her first five threes for 12 points in the opening half. She finished 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Her lone field goal inside the arc came in transition, when Columbia's Elise Champagne came up with a steal and ran the break to perfection, baiting a double team to hit Kingery with a looping pass along the baseline that she finished for an easy layup. "That was really fun," Champagne said. "I played AAU with Grace when I was younger, so it was kind of cool to get back on the floor with her and be able to play. Watching everyone throughout the season and then coming together to play at the end is really fun." Mustang also got a strong performance out of its trio of Elyria Catholic players, as Isabelle Niederst, Camara Ogletree and Nevaeh Sawyer combined for 21 points. Niederst was the only other player to hit double figures, finishing with 10 points. Lorain's Jelynn Carrington scored eight points, leading Team Bronco, while Wellington's Brooke Lehmkuhl chipped in six. Bronco was missing Midview junior Olivia DiFranco, who elected not to play because the team had just returned from Dayton after competing in the Division I state tournament. "It's always fun to play with familiar faces that you don't see around," Niederst said. "Playing with people from other schools you don't get to see, playing the game of basketball that we all love is just good." CLOSE OPENER In the opening senior game, German's Villa rode a balanced attack to a 45-44 win against Weed Pro. Anna Fitch (Avon), Ja'Neja Nelson-Riley (Lorain) and Dalayjah Nixon (Lorain) each scored seven points for German's Villa while Phylicia Lundy added seven. Amherst's Jocelyn George led Weed Pro with 14 points, followed by Clearview's Audri Castro, who connected on all four of her 3-pointers for 12 points. TWO COACHES INDUCTED The Lorain County Girls Basketball Coaches Association inducted Dave Kudela and Dave Zvara into its hall of fame during the halftime of the rising stars game. Kudela coached at Firelands from 2003 until 2022. During that time, the Falcons won six conference and five sectional championships. He amassed 310 wins in his career. Zvara's 50-year coaching career took him through many sports, amassing 250 combined wins coaching boys and girls basketball. In 2019, he led the Avon Lake girls to a 22-4 record, their first district championship since 2001 and was named Division I Coach of the Year by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association. Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on Twitter. Mustang 60, Bronco 35MUSTANG (60): Izzie Polinko 1-0-2, Claire Springer 3-0-6, Marisa Summerfield 2-0-5, Elise Champagne 2-0-4, Payton Menge 0-0-0, Rachel Washburn 0-0-0, Sirriah Drummer 1-1-3, Isabelle Niederst 4-2-10, Camara Ogletree 1-3-6, Nevaeh Sawyer 2-0-5, Jessica Forthofer 1-0-2, Grace Kingery 6-0-17, Brooke Lime 0-0-0. Totals 23-6-60.BRONCO (35): Kayla Ferancy 1-0-2, Kristen Kelley 1-0-2, Molly Drenik 0-0-0, Mackenzie Ptacek 1-0-2, Brianna Slaughter 0-0-0, Lexi Rodriguez 1-1-4, Kendra Hardwick 0-1-1, Brooklyn Barber 1-0-3, Vivian Cassell 1-0-2, Jelynn Carrington 4-0-8, Aminah Mustafa 1-0-2, Taylor Morris 1-1-3, Brooke Lehmkuhl 3-0-6. Totals 15-3-35.Mustang&emsp;&emsp;31&emsp;&emsp;29&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;60Bronco&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;21&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;35Three-point goals: Mustang (Kingery 5, Ogletree, Sawyer, Summerfield), Bronco (Barber, Rodriguez).