Girls basketball: Isabelle Niederst picks good time for 1,000th point, sparks Elyria Catholic past Brunswick

BRUNSWICK — Elyria Catholic's Isabelle Niederst joined the 1,000-point club Monday while leading her team to a 52-41 non-league win over Brunswick. The senior came out scorching, scoring eight points in the first quarter and eight in the second to pull to within one point of the mark and helping the Panthers enter the break in front 30-15. That final point eluded the 5-foot-9 guard for most of the third quarter before she was fouled with 1:57 remaining in the third quarter. The two makes gave her the milestone and, more importantly for the Panthers, ended a 15-2 Blue Devils run that narrowed the score to 32-30. "I knew it was coming and I was really excited for it," Niederst said. "Once it happened it was just like playing basketball from there." Niederst followed the two free throws with another bucket 30 seconds later to keep her team in front 36-30 heading into the fourth quarter. Brunswick (9-6) again closed the gap to start the fourth quarter, getting to within 36-35, but an 11-2 Panthers run, keyed by four more points from Niederst, finally gave them enough cushion to coast to the finish. "It was really just taking care of the ball," Niederst said. "Not having a lot of turnovers and focusing on taking care of the ball and taking good shots. Not rushing our shots." Niederst finished with half her teams' points (26) and also had 10 rebounds and five steals. The rebounding battle came out nearly even — 32-31 in favor of the Panthers — but whichever team controlled the glass was usually the one that was also adding points on the scoreboard. "We focused a lot on rebounds," Niederst said. "Especially since we're a smaller team. Everybody boxing out, making contact and trying to get boards which allows us to get out in transition." Camara Ogletree and Lexi Rodriguez each had eight points and six rebounds to back up Niederst. Ogletree also led all players with four assists. The Blue Devils were led by seniors Lexie Betermes (12 points, seven rebounds) and Kiley Deighton (10, 10). Elyria Catholic (11-4) was tremendous in the second quarter, allowing just a 2-of-15 shooting performance by Brunswick and also forcing six turnovers while turning a three-point lead into a 30-15 edge. The Blue Devils went 3:10 without scoring after their first basket and another 3:30 after their second. Brunswick responded with its own dominant quarter after the break, holding the Panthers to a 2-of-13 effort from the floor, forcing five turnovers and allowing just six points to make it a game again. "I think we just lacked communication a lot," Rodriguez said. "We picked that up during our timeouts and we would say things as a team." Contact Chad Grant at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Elyria Catholic 52, Brunswick 41 ELYRIA CATHOLIC (52): Camara Ogletree 2-4-8, Isabelle Niederst 10-4-26, Lexi Rodriguez 4-0-8, Navaeh Sawyer 0-0-0, Mya Rivera 1-0-3, Lauren Riddell 1-0-3, Amaya Smith 0-0-0, Gabby Rodriguez 2-0-4, Juliana Cerny 0-0-0, Sophia Niederst 0-0-0, Meagen Peña 0-0-0. Totals 20-8-52.BRUNSWICK (41): Lexie Bertemes 5-0-12, Grace Willkom 1-0-2, Kiley Deighton 4-2-10, Adaya Collenette 3-2-9, Bri Sigmund 1-0-2, Kendall Haber 2-0-5, Madison Venere 0-0-0, Gisela Gatesman 0-1-1. Totals 16-5-41. Elyria Catholic&emsp;14&emsp;16&emsp; 6&emsp;16&emsp;—&emsp;52Brunswick&emsp; 11&emsp; 4&emsp;15&emsp;11&emsp;—&emsp;41 Three-point goals: (EC) I. Niederst 2, Riddell, Rivera; (B) Bertemes 2, Collenette, Haber. Rebounds: Elyria Catholic 32 (I. Niederst 10), Brunswick 31 (Deighton 10). Assists: Elyria Catholic 7 (Ogletree 4), Brunswick 7 (Deighton, Sigmund 2).Junior varsity: Elyria Catholic, 35-19