Girls Basketball: Depth key as Avon Lake clinches second place in SWC with win over Berea-Midpark

BEREA — February is the time of year when the teams with depth usually win a lot of basketball games. On a night when Avon Lake's top two scorers — Olivia Miller and Milly Milligan — were held to a combined 16 points, the Shoregals' depth was on full display as sophomore Riley Koury and senior Evelyn Ritt had career nights in a 58-49 Southwestern Conference win. Avon Lake (15-6, 12-2 SWC) clinched second place in the SWC behind eight-time defending champion Olmsted Falls. "This was a tough game between two good teams and we just found a way to win," Avon Lake coach Paul Appel said. "We made just enough plays to pull it out in the end." The Shoregals led wire-to-wire despite allowing the Titans to pull within 23-22 late in the first half. Koury had 12 of her 17 points in the second half as the Shoregals led by as many as 11 points. "Our team worked really hard together and persevered through the hard times," Koury said. "It feels good to have this kind of game. "We know to look for each other in the paint and we work so well together that my teammates knew when I was open." Ritt did it all on the offensive end with 11 points and eight rebounds. She was unofficially credited with nine assists. "It means a lot to get this win, especially considering they beat Olmsted Falls this year," Ritt said. "It was a stressful game but it meant a lot to get the win. "We really locked in tonight on defense and we were able to make the right plays on offense." The Shoregals were only the sixth team to hold Berea-Midpark under 50 points. The Titans were held to 27 percent shooting (15-of-57) from the field. Avon Lake held a 41-30 rebounding edge. "I feel good about where we are right now. Our kids are really starting to play well," Appel said. "They do a good job of coming together and playing for each other and understand that there's going to be hard moments but we have to fight through them and persevere." Berea-Midpark (17-5, 11-3 SWC) held the Shoregals to two points for a 4:47 stretch of the second quarter until sophomore Frankie Persia hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer after receiving the ball on an inbounds pass with 0.5 seconds left to give Avon Lake a 28-23. "Frankie being able to hit a three and stretch the lead out to a more comfortable margin was huge for us," Appel said. "She does a good job of staying ready to shoot the basketball." Avon Lake has one regular-season game to play Tuesday against Archbishop Hoban. The Titans, who were led by Regan Braaten's 18 points, await Sunday's Division I tournament draw to find out their next opponent. Berea-Midpark entered the day ranked No. 4 in the district in the MaxPrep RPI rankings. Miller had nine points for Avon Lake while Milligan and Persia had seven each. "Berea was challenging," Koury said. "But we played really well and showed we were ready for the challenge." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Avon Lake 58, Berea-Midpark 49 Avon Lake (58): Riley Koury 8-0-17, Frankie Persia 2-1-7, Mariela DiTullio 1-0-3, Olivia MIller 4-0-9, Evelyn Ritt 4-3-11, Erin Dean 2-0-4, Molly Milligan 2-3-7. Totals 23-7-58. Berea-Midpark (49): Lilly James 0-4-4, Miya Walker 2-0-5, Casey Friel 1-1-4, Emma Arnold 2-2-7, Pressley Fathauer 2-1-6, Lexi Hall 1-2-5, Reagan Braaten 7-4-18. Totals 15-14-49. Avon Lake&emsp;16&emsp;12&emsp;16&emsp;14&emsp;—&emsp;58 Berea-Midpark&emsp;12&emsp;11&emsp;10&emsp;16&emsp;—&emsp;49 Three-point goals: Avon Lake (Persia 2, Koury, DiTullio, Miller), Berea-Midpark (Walker, Friel, Arnold, Fathauer, Hall) Field goals: Avon Lake 23-47 (49 percent), Berea-Midpark 15-57 (27 percent). Free throws: Avon Lake 7-13 (54 percent), Berea-Midpark 14-19 (74 percent). Rebounds: Avon Lake 41, Berea-Midpark 30. Turnovers: Avon Lake 22, Berea-Midpark 8. Team fouls: Avon Lake 13, Berea-Midpark 14. Fouled out: James. Junior varsity: Berea-Midpark, 52-44.