Rootstown at West Branch gbk
BELOIT ― West Branch picked up its third consecutive victory on Monday night with a 50-28 win over Rootstown at the West Branch Field House.
Junior Sophia Gregory had a double-double and more the for the Warriors (7-10), with 18 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, six steals and five blocked shots.
Hannah Egli added nine points and Chloe Dennison scored eight for West Branch.
"We are really starting to gel now," said Warriors coach Walt DeShields. "We have had Sophia back after missing eight games. It is great having her back but it changed our rotation so there was a period of adjustment. Now it seems like it is coming together and people are going to find out that we are a good basketball team."
Aubrey Kline led the Rovers (13-3) with seven points and Lindsay Smith added six.
The Rovers, who saw their 11-game winning streak come to an end in a 51-36 loss to Streetsboro on Saturday, found themselves at a disadvantage early when Nadia Lough went down with an injury.
"We were already down one starter in Abby White and losing Nadia really hurt us," said Rootstown coach Joe Leonard. "It is really tough to play against a talented team like West Branch and a team that is as big and physical as they are. You are really at a disadvantage when you are not at full strength."
The Warriors' 3-point shooting was the key in the first half. Dennison hit a pair of 3s and Cami Campbell added another one to stake West Branch to an 11-7 lead after eight minutes. In the second quarter, Egli drilled 3s on three consecutive possessions to spark the Warriors to a 30-17 lead.
"Our outside shooting really opened things up for us," said Gregory. "When our guards are making those shots, that pulls out the other team and opens things up inside."
Gregory scored all eight of her field goals in the lane.
"When our wings are shooting the ball like that and Sophia can go inside we are very hard to defend," said DeShields.
Leonard said West Branch's size took its toll.
"I thought that we adjusted very well early in the game," he said. "But as time went on they really wore us down. They have three girls over 6-feet tall and we don't have any 6-footers. They are very physical and that showed as the game went on."
\"I thought that we adjusted very well early in the game,\" continued Leonard. \"But as time went on they really wore us down. They have three girls over 6\' tall and we don\'t have any 6 footers. They are very physical and that showed as the game went on.\"
The Warriors dominated the boards 33-18 with Livvie Showalter grabbing nine boards.
"I think that our size bothered them all night," said DeShields. "They have a pretty good offense with their post players and even when they got it in there, our size bothered them on their shots.
"We played very well defensively, we contested every shot," he added. "We gave up a couple of 3s where we didn't communicate but all in all we payed a solid game against a very good team."
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: West Branch's girls basketball team defeats Rootstown
