Girls basketball: North Ridgeville looks like a contender come tournament time

Sometimes the pieces just fit together perfectly. North Ridgeville has had its share of good players on its roster over the last decade, but the 2025-26 edition is the deepest and has the most complementary parts of any team in coach Amy Esser's 18-year tenure. That's why the Rangers' 9-2 start, which is tied for the best in school history, could be a harbinger of greater things to come in the second half. On Saturday, the Rangers will face one of their toughest tests when they host defending Division III state finalist Avon Lake in a game that will be streamed on weol.com and the Chronicle-Telegram YouTube Channel. "In the 18 years I've been here, I think this is the most dynamic team we've had," Esser said. "Every person on the team has a role and they're all different. We have the pieces and parts. We spent the first half of the season figuring out how to put them together." While the Rangers don't have that one player who puts up numbers that jump out of the box score or attract the attention of mid-major college programs every night, they have a different player who leads them to victory. On some nights, junior Lauryn Bohannon leads the way with her work around the basket and on the boards. Other nights, senior Reyna Balderas gets hot from behind the 3-point line and can change games in a heartbeat. Junior Brooke Schroeder is finally healthy and has the ability to change games on both ends of the court. "We're not worried about what we can do individually, the focus has been on the team," Schroder said. "We've been playing together for a long time and that has brought us together. We're good friends out of basketball and we have such good chemistry on the court." North Ridgeville isn't just beating the teams it should beat. The Rangers have four wins against teams with .500 or better records. In addition to playing in the Southwestern Conference, which produced a state Final 4 team each of the last three years, North Ridgeville played non-conference games against Brunswick and Lakewood over the first month of the season. "Coach Esser frontloaded our schedule so we'd have more games in the beginning of the season, so we'd get a lot of good competition under our belts," Balderas said. "The second half of the season has more SWC games, and I feel like we're prepared for that." Bohannon points to talent throughout the lineup as a reason why the Rangers have been so successful. "If I'm not making too many shots, I can count on Brooke or count on Reyna. Honestly, we can count on anyone on this team to step up," Bohannon said. "We had to figure out how to work together and make the pieces fit. I don't really know how to explain it, but we have a different energy this year." The energy has shown up late in games, as the Rangers are 4-0 in games decided by six or fewer points. "You can try to replicate that stuff in practice, but it's totally different in a game. Those are they kinds of games you want to be in. It's almost a tournament-like atmosphere," Esser said. "I know these girls are capable of doing really good things, but the way we've been able to finish close games has been surprising." Esser also pointed out that Mary Strippy, a sophomore transfer from Elyria Catholic, has provided a boost. Now, the question is can the Rangers keep it up and bring home the one thing that has eluded the program, a district championship. "During the second half of the season, we're going to hit some adversity, it's inevitable. It's going to come down to how we respond to that," Esser said. "We have a lot of good leaders and veteran experience on this team, so I think we'll be fine." After playing 10 games in the first 27 days of the season, the Rangers had a two-week break over the holidays to rest and get ready for the stretch run. "Our focus is one game at a time," Esser said. "We obviously want to play the best competition and we get that in the SWC. Playing teams like Olmsted Falls, Avon Lake and Berea-Midpark get you ready for the tournament." Balderas believes the team is in a good position to end the season in memorable fashion. "We want to prove ourselves in the second half of the season and win some games against good teams," Balderas said. "I think we can go on a run, honestly. We've been able to dig deep and find ways to win. That experience can help us make a tournament run." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.