Girls basketball: Avon Lake falls to defending state champ Bellevue

CASTALIA — Avon Lake has battled with and defeated some of the best teams in Ohio this season. Sunday, against defending Division IV state champion Bellevue, it couldn't even muster a fight. Lady Red scored the first 10 points of the game and never led by fewer than seven at any time after that as it rolled to a 60-44 win at the Tourney Tune-Up @ The Berg at Margaretta High School. Bellevue (16-0) held Avon Lake scoreless for nearly the entire first three minutes until Riley Koury scored the Shoregals' first basket to make the score 10-2. Lady Red scored six more unanswered until Molly Milligan scored her first points with 2:48 remaining in the opening period. "Their pressure bothered us and (Kaitlyn) Turinsky has a lot of length inside, so that took away some of the things we typically do well," Avon Lake coach Paul Appel said. "We have to learn from it, that's the biggest key." Avon Lake (13-5) was held to 16 first-half points, as two of its top scorers, Olivia Miller and Frankie Persia, were held scoreless. The Shoregals finally got their offense going in the second half but the damage was done. "We talked about some things we wanted to do different, but really it was just that we came out with an attack mindset in the second half," Appel said. "We can take away from this game that we have to attack for 32 minutes if we want to be successful." The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Shoregals, who entered without a loss since Jan. 7. The five teams that defeated Avon Lake this season have a combined record of 73-19. The Shoregals' three losses in Ohio to Laurel, Olmsted Falls and Bellevue all came against teams that advanced to the state tournament in 2025. Milligan led the Shoregals with 12 points, Persia finished with 10 and Olivia Miller scored nine points. "There's a reason we play good teams. We want to learn something from it," Appel said. "If we learn something from it and get better from it, it's a good experience." Bellevue, which has won 15 of its 16 games by 10 or more points, was led by freshman guard Ava Jakubcin-Theis, who had had a game-high 19 points, and Turinsky, a Youngstown State commit, who scored 16. The 6-foot-3 Turinsky also had 10 rebounds. "They a good team," Appel said of Bellevue. "They have length in Turinsky and they have four girls who can play around her. They're going to be a tough out in the Division IV tournament." Things won't get easier for Avon Lake as three of its final four regular-season games are against its toughest SWC opponents — Olmsted Falls, North Ridgeville and Berea-Midpark — before the Shoregals wrap up the regular season against defending Division III district champion Archbishop Hoban. "We don't set specific goals of where we want to be at any point of the season," Appel said. "Our focus is to get better every day." It looked like Avon Lake might work its way back into the game early in the third quarter when Miller and Persia made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to cut the Bellevue lead to 11. However, the Lady Red defense clamped down and held the Shoregals to just two points over the final 6:17 of the quarter. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Bellevue 60, Avon Lake 44 AVON LAKE (44): Riley Koury 2-0-4, Frankie Persia 4-0-10, Mariela DiTullio 0-1-1, Olivia MIller 2-4-9, Evelyn 1-0-2, Erin Dean 2-0-6, Molly Milligan 6-0-12. Totals 17-5-44 BELLEVUE (60): Ellie Freitag 1-3-5, Bailey Nicholas 2-0-5, Ava Jakubcin-Theis 6-7-19, Carrington Savage 1-0-3, Kaitlyn Turinsky 8-0-16. Mazie Gracemyer 4-4-12. Totals 22-14-60 Avon Lake 9 7 8 20 — 44 Bellevue 18 9 9 20 — 60 Three-point goals: Avon Lake (Persia 2, Dean 2, MIller), Bellevue (Savage, Nichols) Field goals: Avon Lake 17-43 (40 percent), Bellevue 22-46 (48 percent). Free throws: Avon Lake 5-8 (63 percent), Bellevue 14-21 (67 percent). Rebounds: Avon Lake 28, Bellevue 17. Turnovers: Avon Lake 18, Bellevue 11. Team Fouls: Avon Lake 18, Bellevue 12.