Despite big nights, Riverside gets past Nordonia girls basketball

Despite Painesville Riverside seemingly getting a majority of loose basketball battles and crashing the offensive glass for 14 rebounds on Saturday afternoon, the youthful Nordonia girls’ squad still continues to makes strides.

Veteran head coach Julie Buckler realizes there were areas where the Knights continue to show that they need more work to improve.

However, Riverside (13-3) had a lot to do with those shortcomings.

Host Nordonia fought early and flashed some strong defense, forcing five Beaver turnovers in the game’s first 3.5 minutes of action. The Knights had a slim 10-9 deficit after the opening quarter.

That’s when the battle-tested trio of Riverside standouts got to work – senior forward Sam Volpe, senior point guard Belle Bozic, and junior forward Savanah Laurenty.

When it was all said and done – a 55-34 Beaver win – that trio exploded for 50 points, 29 rebounds, eight assists, seven steals, six 3-pointers, and 13 offensive boards.

“They push the ball really well and it’s impressive how quick they get into their offense and get shots,” explained Buckler.

Riverside mixed up defenses effectively. It didn’t confuse the Knights and Nordonia actually had no issues advancing the ball against the Beavers’ 2-2-1 full court press.

Part of the problem was that the Knights (4-12) rushed their shots once they cleared midcourt and had some issues against the Riverside half-court zone set as well.

Conversely, Nordonia also had some timing issues with their defensive rotations, but Riverside’s superb ball movement, cuts to the hoop, and inside-out play proved to be a tough facet to deal with.

Once again, Riverside had a lot to do with it and has won 13 of their last 14 games!

Some of these items – along with rebounding – have reared their ugly head before for Nordonia, which is playing against a stro0ng schedule.

“One of the things we have been working on is communicating better against the press,” noted Buckler.

“We do a good job of breaking the press and that is the tough part, and we did that well against Riverside, but once we get through the tough part, we just need to take a breath and be patient, and get into our offense,” pointed out Buckler.

While Laurenty hurt Nordonia with drives to the bucket, short jumpers, and offensive rebounds, netting six points in each of the first two periods, Volpe and her diverse game burned Nordonia in the second quarter when Riverside had an 11-2 run and outscored the hosts 19-8.

Volpe exploded for 10 points in the second stanza and had a whopping 10 free throw attempts in the first half, which was 29-17 in favor of Riverside.

The hustling Volpe finished 24 points and 15 rebounds and buried a trio of 3-pointers as did Bozic. Laurenty had 16 points, 10 boards, and four thefts.

Knight junior wing Brooklynn Johnson, a versatile athlete who can defend on the wing and in the paint, got into foul trouble early.

“Johnson got three fouls early and had to sit, which hurt as Brooklynn gives us major energy and does a lot of those small things that we really needed against a team like Riverside,” said Buckler.

With Volpe getting hot, Bozic also started to make plays on both ends. She drilled the first of three triples off a feed from Eleanore Busch to push the lead to 22-11 at the 3:39 mark of the second stanza.

“Defending Bozic was one of our keys coming in because she scored 31 points against us in a game last year,” said Buckler.

“I challenged Jensen (Stehlik) to defend her and she did pretty well,” explained Buckler.

Bozic’s tireless play spilled into the second half. She ended with 10 points, dished out six assists to go with four boards and two thefts.

Stehlik’s defense was solid as Bozic only had that trey in the first half, but that work on defense may have also affected Stehlik’s offensive energy. Stehlik had seven points, all coming in the first half.

Nordonia’s backcourt of seniors Taylor Root and Stehlik, plus promising freshman Haydn Paul had some good moments and has all winter.

Paul had a team-high 13 points, five steals and canned a pair of triples.

Establishing herself as the club’s point guard, Root is making huge strides after sitting out with injuries for much of last year. Root had five points, dished out four assists and had two steals.

“Taylor has really stepped up and has become a real floor general for us,” said Buckler. “She is creating a lot of things for us on offense along with her defense.”

Johnson had a strong second half with a good floor game of eight rebounds, including six on the offensive glass, plus two assists.

Buckler liked the play of freshman post Debbie Godspower off of the bench. Godspower had six second half points.

“Godspower gave us some good energy and sparked us in the second half,” pointed out Buckler.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Big games aren't enough for Nordonia girls vs Riverside