Girls basketball: Avon Lake looking forward to rematch with still rolling Brush in Division III state semifinals

When Avon Lake traveled to Brush on a cold January night it appeared the Shoregals and the Arcs were teams headed in different directions. Brush pulled away in the second half for a 70-52 win, its 10th in a row after starting 2-2. Avon Lake, meanwhile, had lost three of its last four games after starting the season 9-0. Now the teams will meet again Sunday in a Division III state semifinal at Canton Memorial Field House with a trip to the championship game in Dayton on the line. Since that night, the Arcs have just kept winning, their streak now at 22. Avon Lake rebounded to win 12 of its last 14 games and has allowed more than 42 points only twice in those games. With eight days to prepare after its regional final win over Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and its defense playing better than it has all year, Avon Lake thinks it has the formula to improve on their previous performance against the Arcs. "We feel really good when we've played a game against somebody and we start to know and understand their athleticism," Avon Lake coach Paul Appel said. "We're better prepared to play them a second time." Brush's offense, which is averaging almost 60 points a game, is led by Tatiana Mason, the only sophomore to be a finalist for Ohio's Miss Basketball Award, and her sister, Nyla, a freshman, as well as sophomore Chaniyra McDowell-Isaacs. Tatiana and Nyla are the daughters of Brush boys coach Chet Mason, the 2000 Ohio Mr. Basketball winner. "We struggled at a point in the season," Avon Lake senior Olivia Tobin said. "Brush was the one game where we were at our worst. They have crazy athletic players, they have Power 5, Division I prospects. They're incredible and amazingly talented. We have to lock in on defense and do what we do best." Sunday's game will be Avon Lake's first state tournament appearance since 1994 and the first in school history for Brush. It will also be the first Ohio High School Athletic Association state tournament game played in Northeastern Ohio since the 1986 girls tournament was held at the University of Akron. "I know the Brush game wasn't like a really good game for us but the way we've been playing I think we can give them a really good run for the money," Shoregals junior guard Olivia Miller said. "If we continue to play really good defense we can stop their good players like we did to St. Vincent-St. Mary and Unioto. We're capable of coming out and beating them." Avon Lake and Brush had six common opponents this season — Archbishop Hoban, Olmsted Falls, Magnificat, Westlake, Warrensville Heights and St. Vincent-St. Mary. The Arcs were 5-2 in those games while Avon Lake was 4-4. Sunday will be the ninth time Avon Lake has played an opponent for the second time this season. In five of those first eight games the Shoregals held their opponents to fewer points in the second meeting. "I think we've grown and improved since the start of the season," senior Bre Jones said. "With everyone playing together longer we've meshed more. The more time we spend together we connect more and we can read each other and we know when we need to step up. "We're just going to keep on working the same way we have. The way our defense has been playing in the tournament we're going to hopefully keep going and have another big defensive game." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.