by Michael Leonard

Sports Editor

Streetsboro — The first home game of the Amanda Blazetic era of Streetsboro girls basketball left everyone — including Blazetic — gasping for breath.

Her Rockets won that home opener Dec. 2 over Crestwood 55-51 in overtime.

Blazetic said she didn’t have want to have every contest run this way, as the former Notre Dame College star joked she felt like she had played all 36 minutes.

“Honestly, that’s the most well-rounded team that I ever coached,” Blazetic said. “Every single player who needed to step up for us did.”

The game was sandwiched between a pair of tough losses for the Rockets. Streetsboro opened its season with a 53-39 loss at Warrensville Heights Nov. 30. Then, the Rockets hosted Portage Trail Conference County Division favorite Mogadore and nearly got run out of its own gym 77-39.

The Rockets record moved to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the County Division with the losses.

The good news for Streetsboro was senior Jennifer Langford  — who was feared to be lost for the season due to a knee injury — was able to start against Warrensville. She led the Rockets with 12 points against the Tigers.

However, Warrensville’s edge in rebounding led to the Rockets’ demise Nov. 30. It was a deficiency Blazetic was determined to address.

“Our entire focus from the moment we got home was boxing out,” Blazetic said. “That turned out to be the difference in the game.”

In fact, it was rebounding and the transition game which allowed Streetsboro to establish an early 9-2 lead. Crestwood got back into it, thanks to a pair of three-pointers from guard Katie Cook, but Crestwood still trailed 13-10 after one quarter.

Cook led all scorers in the game with 17 before she fouled out early in overtime.

The main battle down low had Crestwood center Olivia Phillips and Langford going toe-to-toe. Langford ended up winning that battle as she finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out.

Philips ended with six points and 10 rebounds before she fouled out in overtime.

Fouls played a major part in the game, as Crestwood sunk their free throws in the second quarter to take a 24-23 lead.

After Streetsboro took the lead 36-33 after three quarters, things got interesting late. 

First, the Rockets lost both starting guards Shawnee Spinks and Stephanie Lesher to fouls midway through the fourth quarter. That led to some turnovers late in the fourth quarter.

Still, Streetsboro clung to a 47-46 lead after Crestwood’s Alex Wagner split a pair of free throws.

The Rockets, who earned a 38-36 victory in the junior varsity contest, thought it won the ball game during a scramble for a rebound, but the referees ruled that Jordan Genovese had fouled Crestwood’s Amanda Levaskevich — with no time left on the clock.

“It was a tough call, but I believe the game was called fairly by the referees,” Blazetic said.

Levaskevich had a chance to win it, but she missed the first free throw. She canned the second shot, sending the game to overtime.

Early in the overtime period, Levaskevich atoned for her miss by giving Crestwood the lead with a layup.

However, Crestwood’s momentum seemed to diminish once Cook and Phillips fouled out.

Senior forward Merrisa Wilcox was huge for the Rockets in the fourth quarter and overtime. She helped fill the rebounding void once Langford fouled out.

Wilcox nailed a three-pointer with less than two minutes to go that gave the Rockets the lead for good at 53-51. She finished the game with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Rocket guard Rachel Kolke, who finish with a team-high 14 points, iced the game by hitting two free throws with 2.8 seconds left.

However, Streetsboro’s euphoria was short-lived as the Rockets had no answer for Mogadore seniors Amanda Sidwell and Jordan Poth, who put up 25 and 22 points, respectively, combining to outscore the entire Rocket squad Dec. 5. 

The visiting Mogadore Wildcats showed why they are considered the team to beat in the Portage Trail Conference County Division, as they jumped out to a 45-18 halftime lead, then rolled to a win in the division opener for both teams Dec. 5.

Poth had six three-pointers, as the Wildcats hit nine shots from behind the arc.

Wilcox and Langford paced Streetsboro with 10 points each.

The Rockets are scheduled to return to action Dec. 9 at Garfield. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3913