Girls Basketball | Rough Riders come up clutch

CUYAHOGA FALLS — Their dominant second quarter and 14-point halftime lead had faded in the face of a frenzied Black Tigers defense.

Suddenly trailing for the first time since the opening minute of the second quarter, Roosevelt responded, scoring the last six points of the night for a 48-44 victory over host Cuyahoga Falls.

With their shots no longer falling like they were during their 18-3 second quarter and facing a raucous home student section, the Rough Riders scrapped their way to victory Wednesday.

Down 44-42 with 1:29 remaining, Roosevelt junior guard Ari Crockett rattled in the front end of a one-and-one, then swished the second to tie the score.

"It's just focus," Crockett said. "I really just needed to focus up, make sure I hit those."

After the Black Tigers missed the front end of a one-and-one, the Rough Riders missed their first chance at a go-ahead shot, a runner from the left side, but junior forward Saniya Moxley grabbed the rebound and sent a high-arcing layup off the glass and in to put Roosevelt back in front.

"I just got really excited because I was like, 'Oh wait, I have an open shot,'" Moxley said. "So I'm just going to take it and hope for the best because our team really needs it."

Black Tigers junior Mackenzie Kramer had a decent look at a go-ahead 3, but Claire Booher came out with a spirited closeout to help force a miss and fellow Rough Riders senior Maya Sheller snagged the board.

"We had Maya getting crazy rebounds in key moments, and then Claire with her long arms and her defense," Roosevelt coach Craig Foreman said. "That's what she's in there for. She doesn't care about scoring and that was her job."

Sheller got the ball to Crockett, who, with 4.5 seconds remaining, tacked on two more pressure free throws to seal the win for the Rough Riders (2-2, 2-1 Suburban American).

"That's what you expect from your leading scorers, your captains," Foreman said. "It was like she had ice in her veins."

Cuyahoga Falls shows remarkable fight in second half

That such chaos was even possible was a credit to the Black Tigers.

With their already small roster of eight slimmed down to six due to COVID-19 quarantines, and with the Rough Riders establishing firm control of Wednesday's contest with an 18-3 second quarter, the home team could have faded away. Instead, trailing 31-17 at the half, Cuyahoga Falls came out with renewed vigor.

"I told the girls after the game that's the thing I'm most proud of them for is the way they competed in the second half," said Black Tigers assistant coach Steve Kramer, who ran the show Wednesday with head coach Joe Nowak out due to quarantine. "There was a chance to roll over and die there with only six girls."

The Black Tigers were particularly energized on the defensive end, where, after not trapping in games and practices all year, they suddenly utilized traps to force a number of Rough Riders turnovers and missed shots.

After the Rough Riders went 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc in the second quarter, the Black Tigers put out the fire, holding them to 5-of-22 from the field in the second half.

Meanwhile, Kramer knocked down a runner to draw within eight (37-29) with 1:30 left in the third quarter. In the final minute of the frame, the Rough Riders tried to block a Black Tigers' shot, but a foul was called, with a technical added on, and the home team hit two of four free throws to cut within 37-31 entering the fourth.

Cuyahoga Falls added the first five points of the fourth, as Kramer drained a deep 3 and Jenna Roberts added a runner.

Still trailing 42-36 midway through the fourth, Laila Smith briefly put the Black Tigers in front. The senior started with a 3 from well beyond the right wing, then 37 seconds later, got the ball in transition and drained a corner 3 to tie the score. Smith, who led the Black Tigers with 19 points, including four 3-pointers, after going 1-of-7 from deep in the first half, tacked on a pair of free throws to give the home team the lead.

"She's done this a lot of times," Steve Kramer said. "So she knows that her role is to continue to shoot it when she's got open looks and eventually, hopefully, most nights they will start to go in and they did tonight in really big spots."

Still, while Smith scored 14 of her 19 points and Mackenzie Kramer tallied seven of her 10 after the intermission, Steve Kramer wanted the focus to remain on the defense.

"I think that what happened at the defensive end was way more important," Kramer said. "I think that's kind of what spurred on the offensive runs that we were able to go on there."

A finish and a second quarter to cherish for Roosevelt

The Rough Riders will cherish Wednesday's ending.

They'll savor the second quarter, too.

After Roosevelt trailed early despite Lexie Canning's nine first-quarter points, the sophomore gave her team the lead with a corner 3-pointer 23 seconds into the second stanza.

Then, Crockett, who missed all three of her first-quarter shots, all from deep, caught fire.

The junior got started with a shot-fake from the top of the arc, tearing past the charity stripe and knocking down a graceful floater. Less than a minute later, Crockett employed another shot-fake, but instead of tearing toward the basket, she took a step in, then back out for a 3-pointer and a 21-15 advantage.

"She's one of our best shooters by far," Foreman said. "She can do the step-back and she can do all that, but her best thing is going downhill, getting that floater and it then opens up the outside."

The boulder kept rolling downhill.

After Crockett missed a 3, Canning hit the floor to maintain possession and junior Katie Keller capitalized with a runner. Thirty seconds later, Roosevelt snagged another offensive board, this time by Sheller, with Crockett knocking down a runner. Canning (20 points, 9 rebounds, 4-of-6 from deep) capped a 12-0 Rough Riders run with a transition 3-pointer, her third of the opening half.

"I don't even know what to call her," Foreman said of his sharpshooting post. "In a traditional sense, maybe more of a small forward, even though we put her on the block a lot because she's effective down there, too."

Crockett (17 points, 9 rebounds) later notched a putback to take a 31-17 lead into the half.

"Once I caught fire and I was actually on a roll, then I could start putting my moves into it, instead of just shooting the ball," Crockett said. "First quarter jitters, just had to get those out so I can perform the way I should."

It turned out the fun was just beginning.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Girls Basketball | Rough Riders come up clutch