Girls basketball: Avon Lake's defensive pressure too much for Amherst

AVON LAKE — A girls/boys doubleheader on Coaches vs. Cancer night started off with a bang for the Avon Lake girls, who did what they do best, play defense. The Shoregals led start to finish, forcing 27 turnovers in a 65-21 Southwestern Conference victory over Amherst. Of the turnovers they forced, seven came in the first quarter, leading to a 23-7 advantage. "We pride ourselves on defense throughout the program," said coach Paul Appel, who guided the Shoregals to the Division III Final 4 last year. "We want to come out and set the tone for the game and, eventually, we just wanted to play great half-court defense in the second half." Before the Comets could get off their first shot against the Shoregals' pressure, Avon Lake (4-1, 4-0 SWC) was up 8-1 on four early points apiece from Molly Milligan and Olivia Miller. Milligan finished with 14, four rebounds and a pair of steals, while Miller led everyone with 17 points. Amalee Caldera (eight points) knocked down Amherst's first field goal on a layin at 5:44. Six Shoregals chipped in with the scoring for the balance of the first period, as Frankie Perisa scored five, Bri Droke knocked down a 3-pointer, Riley Koury, Evelyn Ritt and Milligan each had 2-point baskets and Riley Koury split a pair of free throws. Amherst (1-5, 0-4) had its best scoring period in the second, getting to 10 points with Abby Broaddus scoring five, including a 3-pointer. Caldera had a three-point play and Sarai Hussein-Bey scored late on a layin. Despite the scoring output, the Avon Lake lead grew to 42-17 at the half thanks to Miller coming up with another 10 points and sophomore Riley Koury coming off the bench to score six of her eight points. With the game well in hand, the Shoregals used everyone on their roster with no drop in defensive intensity, as Amherst was limited to two points in each of the final two quarters. Caldera scored the first two points of the third, only to have Avon Lake score the final 17 points of the period, Milligan scoring six more. Bri Droke scored the only two points for the Comets in the fourth. "Ballhandling is an issue that we have to clean up. We just aren't holding onto the ball very well," Comets coach Dave Zvara said. "In that first half, our five on the floor just weren't being competitive. It's real simple, we just have to take care of the basketball." Contact James Brady at jbrady_ct@yahoo.com. AVON LAKE 65, AMHERST 21 AMHERST (21): Sarah Iliff 1-0-2, Amalee Caldera 3-2-8, Libby Vidovich 0-0-0, Grace Bender 0-0-0, Callie Beckler 1-0-2, Abby Broddus 2-0-5, Morgan Lymer 1-0-2, Ajia Harris 0-0-0, Sarai Hussein-Bey 1-2-4. Totals 9-2-21. AVON LAKE (65): Riley Koury 4-0-8, Christiana Marzavas 0-0-0, Bri Droke 1-0-3, Frankie Persia 2-0-5, Olivia Miller 8-1-17, Evelyn Ritt 2-2-7, Rachel Besaw 1-0-2, Claire Selby 2-0-4, Molly Milligan 6-2-14. Totals 27-7-65. Amherst 7 10 2 2 — 21 Avon Lake 23 19 17 6 — 65 Three-point goals: Amherst 1-4 (25 percent, Broaddus), Avon Lake 4-11 (36 percent, Droke, Persia, DiTullio, Ritt). Field goals: Amherst 9-32 (28 percent); Avon Lake 27-63 (43 percent). Free throws: Amherst 2-9 (22 percent); Avon Lake 7-9 (78 percent). Rebounds: Amherst 28, Avon Lake 27. Turnovers: Amherst 25, Avon Lake 7. Contact James Brady at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.