Girls basketball: Elyria throws away excellent start, falls to North Olmsted in double overtime

LYRIA — There are only so many mistakes a team can make and still get a win. Elyria found that out the hard way Saturday in a 48-41 double-overtime loss to North Olmsted in non-conference play. Although the Pioneers forced 49 turnovers, they also committed 49, including six in the second overtime. After committing 14 turnovers in the first quarter and 11 in the fourth, the Eagles had just two in the second overtime. "We're looking for our identity," Elyria coach Anthony Brown said. "We're trying to establish ourselves with some poise. We talked about it before the game, starting on valuing the ball and making sure we're getting solid shot selections and things of that nature. When you're playing defensively extremely hard, you have to also play fast offensively, but with patience, and we just didn't do it. "We're fast. We're quick. We're scrappy. We've got some really good defenders. We have to capitalize on turnovers." Initially, capitalizing on Eagles miscues was not a problem. With aggressive on-ball pressure in the backcourt and a zone defense once North Olmsted crossed half-court, the Pioneers forced 10 turnovers over the first five minutes. Additionally, they limited the Eagles to just three field goal attempts during the same stretch. Elyria held North Olmsted to 2-of-10 shooting in the first quarter. The Pioneers (2-2) were able to turn defense into offense and scored the first six baskets of the game. Senior guard Hayli Hendrix opened the scoring with a coast-to-coast layup after a steal on North Olmsted's first possession, and scored six points in the quarter. Hendrix got plenty of help as senior forward Kloie Troutman led the way with seven first-quarter points, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 3:08 mark. The Hendrix-Troutman tandem allowed the Pioneers to build an 18-4 lead after the first quarter, but in the final three periods and two overtimes, they were outscored 44-23. "The first quarter seems so long ago, and I was very happy to forget it, but this group just kept fighting," North Olmsted coach Nolan Turpin said. The Eagles (4-2) flipped the script in the second quarter and outpaced Elyria 14-3, thanks in large part to 11 Pioneers turnovers. Then, in the third quarter, the Pioneers committed another 14 turnovers, which led to eight points for the Eagles. In addition to the turnover issue, the Pioneers made only six of 21 shots from the field and two of their 12 attempts from 3-point range in the third and fourth quarters. During the first overtime, neither team scored a point. After knocking down eight of their 13 free throw attempts in the first four quarters, the Pioneers missed both in the first overtime and split a pair in the second. "It was a tough game to watch," Brown said. "We missed way too many layups at home to win a game, and we didn't value the possession of the ball. You have to capitalize on layups. We had layups where we just missed them. We didn't make free throws again, and that's something that just can't happen." Before the game got to the first overtime, the Pioneers appeared as though they would win when Hendrix put the team up three with a pair of free throws with only 2.9 seconds left. However, Eagles sophomore guard Shelley Gray got a wide-open look from the top of the key and buried the buzzer-beater to tie the game at 40. After the scoreless first overtime, the Eagles took the lead for good when junior forward Katie Strong scored on a layup with 2:45 left to play in the second. Strong, who came in after starter Mia Donald fouled out in the fourth quarter, added a block of Hendrix's 3-pointer with 12 seconds left that could have made it a one-possession game. Contact Matt Florjancic at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. North Olmsted 48, Elyria 41 (2OT) NORTH OLMSTED (48): Sarah Pullin 5-0-10, Tesneem Shahin 1-2-5, Shelley Gray 3-2-9, Molly Tabar 3-0-7, Mia Donald 4-0-8, Rose Lane 2-0-4, Julia Tahsin 0-0-0, Maddie O'Boyle 0-0-0, Katie Strong 2-1-5. Totals 20-5-48. ELYRIA (41): Sirriah Drummer 3-0-7, Maia Lunn 0-0-0, Dani Witten 0-0-0, Hayli Hendrix 4-4-13, Kloie Troutman 4-3-12, KaMariana Scott 1-0-2, Ava Wahn 0-0-0, Jae'Nya Witherspoon 0-2-2, T'Asia Easley 2-0-5, MyAsia Pendergrass 0-0-0. Totals 14-9-41. North Olmsted&emsp;&emsp;4&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;12&emsp;&emsp;10&emsp;&emsp;0&emsp;&emsp;8&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;48Elyria&emsp; &emsp;18&emsp; &emsp;3&emsp;&emsp; 7&emsp;&emsp;12&emsp;&emsp;0&emsp;&emsp;1&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;41 Three-point goals: North Olmsted 3-19 (15.8 percent; Shahin 1, Tabar 1, Gray 1), Elyria 4-29 (13.8 percent; Drummer 1, Troutman 1, Easley 1, Hendrix 1). Field goals: North Olmsted 20-66 (30.3 percent), Elyria 14-62 (22.6 percent). Free throws: North Olmsted 5-18 (27.8 percent), Elyria 9-17 (52.9 percent). Rebounds: North Olmsted 52, Elyria 50. Turnovers: North Olmsted 49, Elyria 49. Junior varsity: North Olmsted, 43-17 Contact Matt Florjancic at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.