Margaretta, Bellevue girls dominate with defense

SANDUSKY — The weight of Monday's game wasn't quite the same. Margaretta and Canton Central Catholic are just three months removed from a Division VI girls basketball state semifinal in which the Crusaders eliminated Margaretta. The Polar Bears got a little bit of payback at the Deuce Brand Summer Classic at Cedar Point Sports Center, topping Canton Central Catholic 37-16. "I don't want to say revenge was any part of it," Margaretta coach Ray Neill said. "They're a whole different ballclub and we're a whole different ballclub. Good day for us. We had some spurts of really good basketball. "We challenged a couple girls to do some things better from the first game to the second game. They did that and I applaud them for that." The Polar Bears led 23-9 at halftime thanks to four buckets from Addyson Fitzthum during a 10-0 run. Margaretta was even more stout defensively in the second half, limiting the Crusaders to two field goals. One came in the final seconds of the game. The Polar Bears are evolving defensively after the graduation of Cassidy Lane, who did a lot on the back end for Margaretta. "We're mixing it up a little bit," Neill said. "Some of that is to take advantage of our quickness. We don't have a 6-foot shot blocker back there to rely on. Defensively, it's all good." The Polar Bears opened the day with a 37-29 win over Oak Harbor after leading 16-13 at the break. Margaretta faces North Union, Minster and Lake on Tuesday. "We shared the basketball extremely well today," Neill said. "We shot it well, also. We're getting better at understanding on the defensive end that we need to be really good. We have to understand we don't have Cassidy in there to rebound every missed shot for us. "As a collective unit, we need to be really good in regards to limiting our opponents to one shot." Bellevue also went 2-0, defeating Wapakoneta 52-45 and Minster 32-19. The Lady Red are continuing to adjust to life without Kaitlyn Turinsky. "We're getting better every time we're out on the floor," Bellevue coach Kory Santoro said. "You're never going to replace a 6-foot-3 All-Ohio Player of the Year kind of girl. But, you can find different ways to get stuff done. I like our team rebounding and our team defense." The Lady Red were tied at 11 at halftime against Minster. Bellevue limited the Wildcats to eight points in the second half in what Santoro called his team's best defensive game of the summer. Meanwhile, Lexi Easterwood tallied a three-point play, Carrington Savage nailed a 3 and Easterwood made two free throws. That was part of the Lady Red's 12-0 run to end the game. "Lexi had a big scoring stretch and she played great defense for us," Santoro said. "That's going to be her role for us. I know her offensive side of the game is going to come along. She's a very good defender for us. She did a lot of great things against Minster for us." Bellevue led Wapakoneta 33-23 at halftime and increased the lead in the second half. The Redskins got back within four points at 49-45 before Bellevue made a few free throws to seal the win. The Lady Red battle Canton Central Catholic and Oak Harbor on Tuesday. "We had a 17-point lead and we made some subs," said Santoro of the Wapakoneta game. "We told the girls that when we make our substitutions, our energy level has to stay the same. When we have a team down, we have to keep a team down. You can't let them back in. "This is summer. A lot of our young girls are still learning." It was a rough day for Monroeville, which lost to Wapakoneta (64-15) and Upper Sandusky (71-4). "We have a very young group this year with about half of our group being freshmen," Monroeville coach Ryan Bohn said. "We also have a couple injuries that are keeping some of our captains out from last year. Right now, it's about coming in and trying to compete and play hard. We said it won't come in one day." The Eagles, who were without Sophia Stieber (sprained ankle) and senior Lilly Stein (hip surgery), will face Lake and Brown County on Tuesday. "Tomorrow is a new day," Bohn said. "We want them to come in with a fresh mindset and come in and compete. We did that early in the day."