Girls basketball: Avon Lake headed to Disney for KSA Holiday Tournament

Although Avon Lake fell one game short of winning a state title earlier in the year, the team is still going to Disney World. The Shoregals are headed to Orlando on Sunday to take part in the KSA Holiday Tournament. They will play three games over three days against teams from across the country at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center. "This is my fourth year and in my first year at Avon Lake we also did this same trip to Florida," Shoregals coach Paul Appel said. "It's a great team-bonding event, it's something the girls have always remembered. All of our past graduates have talked about how much fun this trip is." Avon Lake will play its first game in Florida on Monday against Tappan Zee High School from Orangeburg, New York. On the second day of competition the Shoregals will face either Cherokee High School out of Georgia or Dowingtown East from Pennsylvania Two of those teams (Tappan Zee and Dowingtown) enter the tournament with undefeated records. Although Cherokee is only 6-5, it made the Georgia Class 6A state semifinals last season. "It's an opportunity to play some really good teams," Appel said. "This gives us a test. Can we adjust with one-day notice and all of a sudden this girl we thought wasn't a very good shooter hits three threes in the first quarter. It gives us a chance to adjust on the fly. It gives the girls additional tools to add to their toolbox for the state tournament when the stage is the biggest." Of course, the trip isn't all work. The Shoregals hope it's going to be a lot of fun as well. "We're really looking forward to spending time together and becoming a closer team," Appel said. "We want to go the extra mile for our players to have this experience because we know it's going to be something memorable for them." Because two of Avon Lake's three games will be played in the morning, the Shoregals will have time to head to Disney World and check out other attractions. "Convincing a bunch of kids to go to Florida instead of being here in 10-degree weather was easy," Appel said. The team started planning for the trip in May and began fundraising during the summer. "Over the summer and in the fall we did a great job of fundraising," Appel said. "We had a lot of support from different people in our community to reach all of our goals to have the majority of this trip paid for so the kids have an opportunity to go out there without cost being a huge detriment." On the court, the Shoregals have picked up right where they left off in 2024-25, winning six of their first seven games, the only loss coming against defending Division IV state semifinalist Laurel. "We feeling like we're kinda getting comfortable and finding ourselves," Appel said. "We're just building and trying to get better every day." Avon Lake survived a scare against Berea-Midpark when it had to overcome a double-digit first-half deficit to defeat the Titans 58-54. Avon Lake knocked off Magnificat 47-45 on Tuesday. Besides that it's been smooth sailing for the Shoregals, whose other four wins came by an average of 33 points. "We've been a little better defensively than I expected," Appel said. "And then offensively we're still just trying to find ourselves and be a little more confident." Unlike last season when Avon Lake had four players who shared the scoring duties, returning starters Olivia Miller, a senior, and Molly Milligan, a junior, are combining to score more than half of the Shoregals points. "Olivia and Molly have worked really hard to become special players," Appel said. "They have worked really hard to be able to put up some big scoring and rebound numbers. It's a credit to them for how hard they've worked for it." Milligan averaged a double-double through the early part of the season, while Miller leads the team in scoring with over 17 points a game. Appel also pointed out the team has benefited from the contributions of Evelyn Ritt, the only other returnee who played big minutes in last year's state tournament run. Ritt is among the team leaders in rebounds and assists. The Shoregals' first game when they return from Florida will be against seven-time defending Southwestern Conference champion Olmsted Falls on Jan. 7. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.