Strongsville Girls Advance, Will Play Midpark In District Semifinal

Strongsville High School's girls basketball players have their wish -- a tournament game against powerful Midpark.

The Lady Mustangs earned the right to play one of the area's top teams by defeating St. Joseph Academy, 62-45, in a Division I District Tournament game at Valley Forge on Thursday night.

"Before the tournament, I asked the girls where they would prefer playing," coach Jeff Eicher said. "They said they wanted to go wherever Midpark went. After the game tonight, I told them, 'Well, you've got them.' "

Strongsville (14-7) advanced on the strong shooting of Audrey Smolik and Carly Thomas. Smolik scored 18 of her 24 points in the second half and Thomas added 15 points overall.

The Lady Mustangs took command with a 10-0 run to close the third quarter with a 46-37 lead.

"That turned the tide," Eicher said.

Strongsville stormed to a 10-2 lead, but the smaller Jaguars cut it to 12-10 by the end of the first quarter. It was basically an even game until Erica Shultz scored on a layup at the end of the first half to put the Mustangs ahead, 32-28.

Emma Tilow, who finished with 10 points, scored six early in the second half to help the Jaguars move ahead, 37-36.

Then Smolik hit consecutive 3-pointers and the Lady Mustangs never looked back.

"Our tempo wore them out once we were able to get the ball out and run," Eicher said. "Audrey had a very good game. Seniors who are four-year varsity players can do that."

Smolik, Shultz (10 points), Kelsey Warren (7) and Rachel Stephen (4) were the senior leaders. Juniors Thomas and Nina Vinci (2 points) lent support as the Lady Mustangs continued to play without two other juniors. Lauren Vogt and Kristen Janda again sat out with foot injuries and Eicher hopes the team keeps winning long enough to get both back into the lineup.

"They were our first two players off the bench, but others have stepped up and filled that role," Eicher said, pointing to Stephan and Vinci's increased playing time. "This is a team that has always played together as a team. Carly and Audrey have shot the ball pretty well all season."

Freshman Greta Burry led St. Joseph (13-9) with 12 points, mostly on semi-hook shots in the lane. At 6-1, she was one of the few Jaguars able to mix it up inside with Warren and Shultz.

Eicher said Strongsville will have to play well on both ends of the court against Midpark (19-2), which advanced past Parma, 74-44, in the first game.

"They are good and we know it," Eicher said. "We started out 0-2, losing to Wadsworth and Midpark, two very good teams. But at this point of the season, playing a tough schedule makes a difference. We played a lot of very good teams.

"Against (undefeated) Twinsburg, we battled tough and were within one point. We lost by 14, but we showed we could compete. We lost to Midpark by five and we didn't have Warren at the time."

The Lady Mustangs and Meteors will meet next Thursday at 6 p.m. at Valley Forge.