BURTON—Berkshire used an 18-5 third-quarter run to turn a three-point halftime deficit into a 43-27 win over visiting Kirtland on Wednesday.
With the win, the Badgers improved to 5-7 overall and 3-2 in the Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division.
“I just told them to stay true to our defense,” said Berkshire head coach James Bosley. “In the third quarter, we made extra passes, got open shots.”
The Badgers opened the night with three 3-pointers and Hayley Stoddard scored five of her nine points in the first quarter as the Badgers jumped out to an 11-3 lead.
Kirtland responded with a 15-4 run of its own thanks to Emily Ridgeway’s nine points in the second quarter and took an 18-15 lead into the break.
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After the Hornets scored the second half’s first basket, the Badgers turned the tide with an 18-0 run that left them in the lead, 33-20.
Berkshire got key contributions from all over the court.
Meredith Bors led the Badgers with 11 points and shot 4-of-9 from the field.
Olivia Masink contributed with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Both Stoddard and Ivy Martin pitched in nine points each while Julia Young and Maddie Smetana scored two points each.
“We look for the open shot, teammate,” Bosley said. “When we play as a team, we’re hard to beat.”
The Badgers twice have lost three games in a row, but with the win over league rival Kirtland, Berkshire now has won three straight and inched closer to the .500 mark.
“We want to be 1-0 after every single game,” Bosley said. “Streaks don’t matter. If we come out every day and compete like we can, we’ll be the winning team on the scoreboard.”
For the Hornets, a tough loss dropped them to 5-5 on the year.
“We have to get way better moving forward offensively,” said Kirtland head coach Matt Ridgeway. “We turned the ball over and they get easy transition points.
Only two Hornets scored in the game.
Kristiana Katic recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds and Emily Ridgeway scored nine points with six rebounds.
“You aren’t going to win if you don’t score,” Ridgeway said. “You can play all the defense you want; you won’t win games without scoring.”
Kirtland dropped to 3-4 in league play and likely will have to win out to remain in the hunt for the conference title.
“It’s pretty simple here on out, attitude is everything,” Ridgeway said. “We just have to show up tomorrow and get better.”
Berkshire host Pymatuning Valley and Kirtland hosts Independence on Saturday.
