Although the Ravenna Ravens girls’ basketball team is in the second year of a new regime, they are still trying to figure out their offense. Ravenna’s offensive struggles showed when they lost 60-38 against Metro Athletic Conference rival Cloverleaf in their home opener last Friday evening at the James L. Coll Gymnasium.
“It was at the tail end of the first they just started to pull away,” said Coach Courtney O’Donnell. “We stopped playing some defense, gave up some easy buckets and made some silly mistakes. It was 15-9 and then we just let it get a little out of hand there at the end of the first quarter.”
Since the schools joined the MAC before the 2020-21 campaign, the Ravens (1-1, 0-1) have struggled to overcome Cloverleaf with last Friday’s loss marking their seventh consecutive defeat in the last four seasons.
“Last year we definitely struggled with Cloverleaf, and they always come to play,” said Ravenna’s second-year coach. “Even though it is a long trip they still show up and are ready, so I think Coach Carmigiano does a really good job over there.”
Trailing 15-9 in the first period, O’Donnell said the Ravens’ defense slipped and surrendered an 11-2 run to fall into a 15-point hole at the end of the quarter.
Ravenna’s defense improved in the second period, allowing Cloverleaf to score only nine points, paced by sophomore guard Evie Barth who tallied seven points, but the Ravens could not capitalize on some strong defensive possessions.
“We just struggled offensively,” acknowledged O’Donnell. “Our defense got stops but offensively we could not find the hoop and could not get it down the floor enough.”
Ravenna only scored five points in the second quarter to fall behind 35-16 at the half but chipped away at the Colts’ lead in the third period, outscoring them by a 14-10 margin.
According to O’Donnell, the Raven girls used their athleticism to stifle Cloverleaf’s offense, allowing only two field goals and sophomore forward Jalysia Thompson ignited Ravenna, scoring six points in the third quarter.
“She has really good size,” O’Donnell noted. “She looked inside, and we got her the ball a couple of times and she also had some really good putbacks so she had six points in that third quarter.”
O’Donnell said that in her first season at the helm of her alma matter, one of Ravenna’s biggest challenges was finding players who wanted the ball, and that was difficult with the team dealing with a slew of injuries and illnesses.
Seeing Thompson, one of the only two seniors on the Ravens’ roster, spark her team was a welcome sight for a squad that is still searching for consistent offense.
“I think finding someone who wants the ball in their hands is something we are looking for,” O’Donnell added. “When we played against Newton Falls, it was a couple of different guards that stepped up.”
The Colts has one more run in them in the fourth quarter, outscoring Ravenna by a 14-8 margin to put the game away.
In O’Donnell’s second season with Ravenna, her program returns only four players that logged significant varsity minutes last season in Henderson, senior guard Abby Schofield, junior guard Breena Kainrad and junior guard NaCol Foreman.
According to O’Donnell, she sees the second season as an important stepping stone for a squad that is trying to return to the top of the conference when they won two consecutive Portage Trail Conference Metro Division titles during her playing days.
“The second year we definitely want to see some growth and a lot more competitive games and just getting more from our kids,” O’Donnell said. “We are trying to get it back to that competitive level. We have the athletes and we built numbers this year so we are just honing in on those skills, putting it all together and finding all of those missing pieces.”
One of the Ravens’ biggest challenges against Cloverleaf was winning the rebounding battle, which allowed the Colts to convert on second chances.
O’Donnell said that despite having a young team this season, she has already seen her squad take a leap on defense.
“I think with our defense we are definitely improving on that and are using our athleticism and speed on the floor which is really nice to see,” she said. “That is kind of where we are right now and just fixing up those little skills and those little things that is what I preach to the girls all of the time.”
Following a home contest against MAC and neighborhood rival Streetsboro on Wednesday evening, the Ravens will hit the road and take on MAC foe Field at Mogadore on Friday evening at 7 p.m.
