Bellevue, Margaretta, Norwalk each finish 1-1 at girls Midwest Live

SANDUSKY — The summer is a time to figure things out. Bellevue, Margaretta and Norwalk each felt that experience Friday at Midwest Live at Cedar Point Sports Center. All three girls basketball teams finished 1-1, winning their first game of the day before a loss later in the day. For Bellevue, it was tough sledding in the afternoon contest, losing 39-21 to Division III Bellbrook, a team that finished 24-3 last year and ranked No. 5. The loss came after a comfortable 43-25 win over Wheeling Central from West Virginia, a top-10 team in the state. "Coming here, you're going to play some big teams," Lady Red coach Kory Santoro said. "We got matched up with some pretty good teams based on the last two years. That's the respect we want. Summer is going to expose you. That's what it is — summer. "The first game we played pretty good. But the second game for whatever reason, we didn't have the energy. That's something I've noticed all the summer." Bellbrook raced out to an 8-0 lead and pushed it to 21-3 as the Lady Red struggled to take care of the ball. Bellevue played better in the second half as each team scored 18 points. There were little to no struggles against Wheeling Central. "Right now, when the going is good, we're good," Santoro said. "But when things get tough, we are shying away a little bit. I think that's all correctable. I know if we had to play that team tomorrow, we'd be a totally different team. We have two all-Ohio point guards and for whatever reason, we had a hard time getting in and out of our offense." Against Wheeling Central, the Lady Red led 7-4 before ripping off the next 12 points. Ava Jakubcin-Theis, Carrington Savage and Mazie Gracemyer all scored in the run. Jakubcin-Theis, who was named MVP of the game, led Bellevue with 13 points while Savage and Gracemyer each tallied eight points. Bellevue returns Saturday for Day 2, facing Div. V state semifinalist Fairland, as well as Div. I ranked Hilliard Darby. "We have two ways to answer," Santoro said. "We can stay the same or get better. We'll see where we're at tomorrow. I think we'll come back ready to play." Margaretta opened the day with a 36-22 win over Tri-Valley. The Polar Bears were behind 8-2 early, but limited T-V to 20 points the rest of the way. That included just eight points in the second half. Ashlyn Kingsborough was named MVP of the game, hitting six straight free throws down the stretch to seal the win. "After the first few minutes, we settled in defensively," Margaretta coach Ray Neill said. "We kept them off the scoreboard and got more confident offensively. It was contributions by a lot of girls that allowed us to get a win." The Polar Bears found things tougher in their second game, facing Columbus Bishop Hartley. In a low-scoring affair, Hartley led 12-10 at the break. The Hawks used their size to wear down Margaretta in the second half, using a 9-2 run to open a 28-17 lead. "I think their athleticism and aggressiveness got to our youth a little bit," Neill said. "I think we approved on that and understood what we needed to against that pressure. As the game wore on, we were able to break it down and get to the basket." The Polar Bears, who have to replace four senior starters, continue their Midwest Live appearance Saturday against Tusky Valley and Grandville. "We want to see the consistency and competing hard," Neill said. "Each of them we've had conversations individually about what we need them to work on. That will help the unit get better. The improvement from yesterday to today was good. If we get it again tomorrow, it's even better." Norwalk began its day with a 53-22 thumping of Piketon. "I thought for the most part we had a good day today," Truckers coach Kyle Brubaker said. "In the first game, I thought we took care of business. I thought we played well. In the summer, we're looking for pockets of stuff that we think can carry over to the regular season. There were pockets of execution on both ends of the floor." Emmie Leber scored the first 14 points of the game for Norwalk, finishing with a game-high 20 points. She outscored Piketon herself until the final 90 seconds of the game. With the graduation of leading scorer Trinity Lazzara, Leber will be counted on in an even bigger role this year for the Truckers. "I've always been a coach that if you have an inside post presence that can score... I want to establish the paint first," Brubaker said. "Emmie has had a great summer for us. Every single year, it feels like she gets stronger finishing through contact. It's fun to watch her do her thing." In their second game of the day, the Truckers ran into a buzzsaw in Olentangy Berlin, who defeated Norwalk 48-25. The Truckers trailed just 29-21 at halftime, but didn't make a field goal in the second half. Leber led Norwalk with 11 points. "In the second game, I thought we had a really good first half where we competed really well against a really good team," Brubaker said. "In the second half, we lost a little bit of steam and they went on a run." The Truckers return Saturday to take on Sheridan and Cincinnati Sycamore. "We told them before the event we could go 4-0 or 0-4," Brubaker said. "I really don't care because we've had a successful summer. We are short-handed, we've won a lot of games and we've beat a lot of good programs. Overall, I'm happy. It's all about how we compete."