There is always that one game that can serve as a turning point in a season for any team. That game came for the Berkshire Badgers girls’ basketball team when they suffered from another lackluster second half, losing 41-26 against Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division rival Wickliffe last Thursday evening at Wickliffe High School.
“Every game has been more of the same,” said Coach James Bosley. “We compete and we compete and it’s just a matter of letting them know they can have belief in themselves even though we are not getting the outcomes that we want.”
Berkshire had won three of their last four games against the Blue Devils since the 2021-22 campaign but the Blue Devils finally got the upper hand on their CVC Valley Division rivals thanks to a decisive third quarter.
The Badgers (1-6, 1-3) had plenty to feel good about entering halftime, outscoring Wickliffe by an 11-7 margin to tie the game at 16-16, fueled by one of their best outside shooting quarters of the season; knocking down three 3-point shots in the second period.
Junior guard Jenna Hornak drained a 3-pointer and freshman guard/forward Ivy Martin buried a pair of 3-point shots, pushing Berkshire ahead 16-14 near the end of the quarter.
The Blue Devils tied the game at the end of the half when senior forward Samara Young scored on a putback at the buzzer.
Then the third quarter arrived, and everything unraveled for the Badgers.
In the last three games before Berkshire’s contest against Wickliffe, Berkshire has scored a total of only 13 points in the third period. Its third quarter woe reared its ugly head again as the Blue Devils outscored them 16-2 to take a 14-point advantage.
The Badgers shot only one-of-five and committed 12 turnovers in the third quarter.
“We say teams that win the third quarters win games,” noted Berkshire’s sixth-year coach. “That is the quarter that we have been struggling with the most right now and it is affecting our outcome. Are we making too many adjustments at halftime? Are we talking too much? It’s things that I have to figure out and watch a ton of film and figure out the good and bad in the third quarter.”
Bosley acknowledged that his team was not aggressive enough in the third quarter, evidenced by attempting only five field goals. The Badger girls were willing to pass the ball around but could not find a shot they liked.
According to Bosley, his team needs to develop a little more of a mean streak.
“Once we can calm down with the ball I think that our offense will be a little better,” he added. “I would say we need to be like 90’s era of the Nasty Boys wrestlers. We are too nice sometimes.”
In addition to Berkshire’s third quarter struggles, the Blue Devils seized control thanks to junior forward Ava Gabriel, who scored nine points to fuel a 14-0 run.
Gabriel paced the Blue Devils by scoring 24 points, grabbing one rebound, dishing out one assist and blocking one shot.
“Ava is phenomenal player,” Bosley said. “Her calmness with the ball speaks volumes to the time she spent in gyms with no one else in there; she just understands the game.”
The Badgers were almost shut out in the third quarter but avoided their second scoreless third period in three games when senior forward Maddie Smetana snapped their scoring drought when she stole the ball and scored on a fast break lay-up with 1:44 remaining in the period.
Berkshire did not fare any better in the fourth period, hitting only two-of-14 and although it held the Blue Devils to only one field goal, the momentum was still in Wickliffe’s favor.
“I think right now some of us are focusing on what our record is and not the good and bad of the game and taking away things to improve,” Bosley said. “Once I can get them to stop worrying about what our record is and get them to worry about playing basketball I think it will even itself out.”
The Badgers’ offensive struggles were highlighted in the third quarter but started in the first period, when they scored only five points and missed several open lay-ups.
“You would think we don’t work on that, but we shoot so many lay-ups in practice,” Bosley said. “We work on contested shots and things like that, but we just have to be able to translate practices to games and I believe it is going to happen at some point. Hopefully they can keep that belief and not worry about what our record is.”
Following a road contest against Geauga County and CVC Valley Division rival Cardinal on Tuesday night, Berkshire will face Bloom Carroll High School at Mount Vernon Nazarene University this Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
