Girls basketball: Elyria Catholic beats Central Christian to make Eric Rothgery school's all-time wins leader

KIDRON — What do you give a coach for his record-breaking 330th career victory? After Monday's game, Elyria Catholic coach Eric Rothgery received the game ball from the Panthers' opponent Kidron Central Christian and a brief on-court ceremony with his wife Kim and his players' parents and fans to celebrate him becoming the winningest varsity basketball coach in school history. During the game, his players gave him the team's best defensive outing of the year, as they held the Comets to 20 percent shooting (6-of-30) from the field and forced 23 turnovers on their way to easy 54-20 win. Elyria Catholic (13-4) got a 3-pointer from senior guard Camara Ogletree on its first possession. Central Christian answered back with a 3-pointer from junior Maclaren Fry and then the rout was on. The Panthers scored the next 24 points, held Central Christian scoreless for the next 11 minutes and waltzed into the locker room at halftime with a 38-6 lead. "Tonight was amazing," said Ogletree, who led Elyria Catholic with 13 points. "I am so glad the whole team got to experience this with coach, because this is definitely an honor to be remembered and celebrated." On one hand, the score may have allowed Rothgery more time to enjoy the moment but the game became much shorter than usual when Ogletree hit her third 3-pointer of the night with 6:53 to play in the third quarter to give the Panthers a 41-6 lead and institute the OHSAA-mandated running clock for the remainder of the game. Elyria Catholic saw 12 players score. Senior Mya Rivera, who missed the last two games due to illness, was the only other Panther in double figures, coming off the bench to score 11 points. "He's one of the big reasons I came to EC in the first place," Rivera, said of Rothgery. "This is such a great wholesome moment. I just love being coached by him. It's been so amazing." Central Christian (9-7) came into the game riding high after a 51-7 win over Crestline on Saturday, but the Comets' lineup, with two freshmen in the starting five, proved to be no match for Elyria Catholic's defense. After three quarters, the Panthers held Central Christian to two field goals on 2-of-20 shooting while building a 50-10 advantage. Fry got hot late in the game and got the Comets' offense in gear, finishing with 11 points. "I never really thought about the record to be honest with you," Rothgery said. "It's just a regular old game. It's not like it was my last game coaching. Getting to 330 is cool. It is a testament to sticking to something. "I've got great assistant coaches who helped make this possible. "Larry (Riddell) started with me in 2008. When I started, I had my good friend Billy Jo Williams with me, who played professional basketball. Mike (Sunderman) has been with me at least 10 years. Joe Schill was with me at least a dozen years and he's still in a consulting role. None of this happens without them." After going through a stretch where the team had struggled to score, Rothgery was happy to see the team score over 50 points for the second straight game. He also added that the team has found multiple ways to win as it gets ready for postseason play, which begins in less than three weeks. "These kids have bought into the fact that effort and defense never take a night off," Rothgery said. "Shooting takes nights off, we know that, but as long as effort and defense are always there you're going to be in good shape." It was the first time in 20 games that the Panthers held an opponent to 20 or fewer points, dating back to last season's sectional win over Clearview. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.