The Ravenna Ravens girls’ basketball team played three strong quarters of basketball but it still was not enough. The Ravens came undone in the fourth quarter, losing 69-40 against Metro Athletic Conference rival Cloverleaf last Friday evening in Lodi.
“The girls played hard,” said Coach Courtney O’Donnell. “We have to play all four quarters and we have to find the grit and the stamina. I don’t know if it was just a little bit of us struggling a little bit, but we could not get that momentum shift and it was just stupid turnovers and silly things.”
Despite a sloppy third quarter, the Ravens (3-8, 1-7) only trailed 40-33 at the beginning of the fourth period. According to the second-year coach, Cloverleaf switched to a man defense and although Ravenna beat the pressure, it failed to score and then surrendered easy buckets on the other end.
In addition to struggling offensively, Ravenna’s defense also committed too many fouls, sending the Colts to the foul line for eight free throws. Despite only shooting seven-of-19 on free throws in the first three periods, Cloverleaf knocked down seven foul shots in the fourth quarter.
“It was just some stupid fouls,” acknowledged the second-year coach. “I know we were a little bit tired and it was like instead of moving our feet we just tried to whack her or swat her to block it. It was just silly things we did not do in the first three quarters that we have been really emphasizing and working on throughout the practices.”
Ravenna only made three field goals in the fourth period and was outscored by a 29-7 margin, sending it to its fifth loss in its last six games.
It was a bitter ending to what was a promising start for the Ravens, who have been working on finally playing a complete game of basketball.
On Friday, they came close by competing at a high level in the first three periods but all it took was one bad quarter to wash away any momentum.
“Hopefully the next game we can play four full quarters,” noted O’Donnell. “That was the emphasis at practice for the last bit. The ending of the game is how our players are practicing within the last five minutes. We have to find it in us and within ourselves to want to compete as a whole team.”
Ravenna enjoyed a fast start in the opening quarter, paced by eight points by junior guard Breena Kainrad, who drained a pair of 3-pointers and the Ravens only trailed 15-12, marking a big difference from their first game against Cloverleaf on Dec. 1, when they trailed 26-11 at the end of the period.
“We knocked down a couple of big shots and spaced the floor well and got a couple of good looks,” said O’Donnell. “There were some transition points and a little bit of a mix of things so it was a really good first quarter.”
O’Donnell said the Colts made a 6-0 run near the end of the second quarter but Ravenna responded with a surge at the end of the half, trimming the deficit to only four points.
After scoring 26 points in the first half, Ravenna’s offense went quiet in the third period and only scored seven points.
“Cloverleaf came out and Coach Carmigiano made great halftime adjustments,” O’Donnell added. “He knew what would stifle us a little bit and that is essentially what happened in the third quarter. We missed a couple of shots here and there and we gave up a couple of easy ones, but by being down by seven points at the end of the third period, it was still within reach.”
But Ravenna could not mount a comeback in the fourth quarter and surrendered all the momentum to the Colts. O’Donnell acknowledged that it was a continuation of a familiar trend for a Ravenna squad that is still trying to find their identify.
“Great things take time,” she said. “You have to keep chipping away and it is one step at a time as long as we are improving and getting better. Everybody wants to win. We want to win and compete and show what we have been working on and I feel we did that for three quarters on Friday night and it was just that fourth that we could not get there.”
The Ravens’ schedule does not get any easier, with a slew of MAC games and challenging non-conference games on the horizon but O’Donnell said she is looking forward to seeing her team continue to try and get over the hump.
Following a home game against MAC rival Field on Tuesday night, Ravenna will enjoy a brief hiatus and return to action when welcomes Youngstown Chaney to the James L. Coll Gymnasium on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m.
