ORWELL—Conneaut’s ‘Bigs’ combined for 38 points in a 53-50 Chagrin Valley Conference crossover game victory at Grand Valley on Wednesday.
Those bigs—Kayla Farley and Bella Fix—also pulled down 19 rebounds and recorded three steals and a pair of blocks each in helping the Spartans overcome an 11-point halftime deficit.
“We extended our defense to disrupt their offense,” said Conneaut head coach Jayson Aponte. “Once we got back in the game our bigs took over. The offense revolves around them. They just took over the game by being aggressive and strong.”
Alexis Kiser pulled down four rebounds and added six assists, but it was her clutch 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter that gave Conneaut the lead for good.
“It’s all about having that next-shot mentality,” Kiser said. “It’s great, but all-in-all, it’s another shot. I’m glad the shot went through.”
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Maddy Drew contributed to the win with four points and three steals and Addie Kennedy pitched in with four points and three assists for the Spartans, who improved to 2-6 on the season.
“We’re using this as a springboard, this was a good win,” Aponte said. “This win means everything, The hard work paid off.”
Grand Valley dropped to 6-3 after another hard-fought game.
“Basketball is a huge momentum game, and it shifted,” said Grand Valley coach Zach Sirrine. “The effort was there all game, no doubt.”
Katelyn Hart, Dixie Miller, and Chloe Freeman each scored nine points to lead the Mustangs.
Hart connected on 7-of-8 free throw attempts, Miller added 11 rebounds, and Freeman went 3-of-5 from downtown.
“It was big getting some other girls some confidence,” Sirrine said. “Our scoring was evenly balanced.”
Kaitlyn Baumann added eight points with five steals, and Morgan Crawford and Reagan Boiarski contributed five points each to the Mustangs’ cause.
Grand Valley looks to bounce back at Lakeside on Jan. 3 while the Spartans will visit the Dragons on Jan. 5.
