The Streetsboro Rockets girls’ basketball team will have to wait at least one more year before they pack their bags for the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II Final Four. The Rockets’ historic season ended when they lost 53-32 against Laurel in the Division II regional championship last Friday evening at Barberton High School.
“We definitely did not execute our game plan as well as I had hoped,” said Coach Carl Singer. “That was a little tough for us. Defense has been our calling card all year and we did not execute well last night.”
Although Streetsboro (23-5, 13-1) shattered several school records this season, becoming the first girls’ basketball team to earn a Final Four berth was not in the cards.
In the first quarter last Friday night, Laurel stifled the Rockets’ offense by not surrendering a point and sophomore forward Saniyah Hall sparked her team, by outscoring the Rockets by a 14-0 margin.
She is a great player,” noted the ninth-year coach. “We knew we were not going to stop her completely and tried to make it difficult for her to get great shots but she hit a couple of tough shots early and then we just gave her too many easy good looks throughout the game.”
While Streetsboro was making its first appearance in a regional final in school history, it marked the fourth regional championship berth for the Gators over the last five seasons.
Singer acknowledged that playing in a regional championship for the first time was a new experience for his players.
“I think not being on this stage before and all of this being brand new for our program and our team, I think when you get that close to having a chance to go to the state tournament it gets pretty real,” he added. “The lights do tend to get a little bit brighter, and I do think we struggled with that especially in the beginning of the game.”
After falling into a 14-0 hole at the beginning of the game, the Rockets responded in the second period, going on a 9-4 run to cut into the Gators’ lead but a poor first period gave Laurel a big cushion and it took a 27-12 lead into the half.
In the third period, Singer said that Streetsboro adjusted its defensive alignment and tried to quickly pressure the 6-foot Hall when she passed halfcourt but the Gators were prepared. Laurel used the Rockets’ aggressive defense against them to find the open shooters and sophomore guards Liv Schneider and freshman Jordyn Meyer combined to knock down three 3-pointers.
“We put ourselves in a bad situation and that is not a team you want to get down to because it takes you out of your game plan and you have to come up and pressure her and some of their other good players,” Singer said. “It is tough when you are playing from behind like that to have to come out and pressure and you expose yourself to some open things.”
Laurel’s defense continued to frustrate Streetsboro and the Rockets only made two field goals in the third period, scoring half of its points from the foul line.
Singer said that because Streetsboro was in such a big hole, it tried taking shots it was not accustomed to and its gamble did not pay off, being outscored by a 15-8 margin to fall behind 42-20 at the end of the third period.
While the Rockets may have fallen short of extending their season by one more week, Singer said his team had no regrets on a memorable season.
In just one season, the Streetsboro girls won a share of the Metro Athletic Conference banner, becoming the first girls’ squad to win a conference title in school history, set a new record for the most wins in a season, won its first district title and were just one game away from playing on the biggest stage in high school girls’ basketball.
“We talked about it even before the season started,” Singer said. “By loving the process of practicing and getting better, we said that even if we win the state championship this year, we asked what are you doing after that? Most of them looked at me and said ‘Well I am going to be back in the gym to try and get better.’”
Streetsboro will graduate five players, including most of its bench but do return four of the starting five for next year and Singer said he was excited by the promise of what the underclassmen showed this year.
In Singer’s eyes, as legendary of a season his team had this year, the Rockets are just getting started.
