The race for the Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division banner just got tighter as the Berkshire Badgers girls’ basketball team lost 37-32 against league rival Chagrin Falls last Friday night in Burton.
“It was a missed opportunity,” noted Coach Dave Albert. “The first time we played them too, we had a missed opportunity. We had a lead late and on Friday, we came out a little bit flat and it is now a four-way tie for first place.”
The Badgers (10-4, 5-2) now have two league losses along with Chagrin Falls, Crestwood and Rootstown, creating a four-way tie for first place in the division. Although the Badgers have compiled an impressive 5-2 record against the league, their only two losses have come against Chagrin Falls, who are newcomers to the CVC Valley Division after spending the last several years in the CVC Chagrin Division.
Berkshire still has three league games remaining this season, but the second-year coach acknowledged it is a new race for first place after falling to the Tigers.
“It is a tight division race,” he added. “The CVC Valley Division is the toughest division in the CVC, so we have our work cut out ahead of us. It could have given us a little bit of breathing room, but we don’t have as much breathing room with a four-way tie.”
On Friday, Berkshire fell into an early hole in the first period as the Tigers raced out to an early 7-0 advantage.
Junior guard/forward Ivy Martin acknowledged that Chagrin Falls did a nice job controlling the pace, operating at a slower tempo, which forced Berkshire into a halfcourt style as opposed to their preferred style of pushing the ball out in transition.
“It definitely hurt,” added the Badgers’ junior who scored three points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out one assist. “We like using transition. We like using Stella Bateman more and using our height to get easy lay-ups, but it definitely hurt, and we just have to learn from our halfcourt game.”
Berkshire did make a field goal until the 1:35 mark of the first quarter when senior guard Blythe Bors knocked down a jump shot, trimming the Tigers’ lead to 9-4 but ultimately ended the opening period trailing 11-4.
In addition to having to adjust to a slower style, Berkshire’s offense was hampered by turnovers, as the Badgers committed seven turnovers in the second period and also failed to utilize the paint.
Albert conceded that the Badgers hurt themselves with poor shot selection.
“A lot of times we were just throwing the ball instead shooting the ball,” he said. “We panicked in situations. We try to practice on giving them opportunities to make moves to the basket. We have tools in the toolbox, but we did not use the toolbox.”
Although Berkshire’s offense continued to struggle in the second quarter, it only surrendered 7 points so although Chagrin Falls outscored the Badgers, they only trailed 18-9.
Chagrin Falls seized control in the third period, fueled by an 8-4 run to take a 26-15 as it attacked the paint more efficiently and found several open looks at the basket thanks to some crisp ball movement.
Although the Tigers threatened to pull away, Berkshire finally found a spark in transition, pushing the pace and stayed within striking distance at the end of the third quarter as the Tigers led 29-19.
The Badgers rallied at the start of the fourth quarter, going on a 6-2 run, cutting Chagrin Falls’ lead to 31-25 as senior guard Julia Young buried a 3-point shot and sophomore forward Stella Bateman scored on an open look in the paint.
Although Berkshire found new life, its comeback attempt was thwarted with more sloppy ball-handling, committing eight turnovers in the fourth quarter, including several costly ones in the final minutes which erased any momentum they may have been building.
“We definitely panicked,” said Martin. “We rushed and we just needed to hold the ball, take control and just play our tempo.”
Although the Badgers did not capitalize on an opportunity to cement a firm grip on first place in the CVC Valley Division, Berkshire will have several more chances to recapture the top position as they still face Crestwood and Rootstown one more time in the final half of its schedule.
Following a home duel against CVC Valley Division foe Wickliffe on Wednesday evening, the Badgers will hit the road and take on Kennedy Catholic in Hermitage, PA on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
