March Madness started early for Trinity and Cuyahoga Heights as both teams used dramatic finishes to advance to Saturday’s district championship round.
No. 17 Trinity upset No. 6 Waynedale in double overtime, 47-39, while No. 8 Cuyahoga Heights held off No. 23 Norwayne in overtime, 45-39.
“My blood pressure was up, and I thought I was going to have a stroke, but we pulled it out,” said Trinity coach Ron Donaldson. “We had a tough game against Beaumont that didn’t go our way because we had a turnover late, but I think they learned from that. They learned not to keep their heads down and keep playing hard, and we were able to pull it off.”
Waynedale held a slim 7-4 lead after the first quarter but the Trojans managed to head into the break tied 17-17.
After outscoring the Golden Bears in the third, 9-8, Trinity held a 26-25 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Trojans led by as many as five in the fourth but couldn’t hold off Waynedale, who scored the final four points of regulation to send the game into overtime.
“We just couldn’t put them away,” Donaldson said. “They had a girl that just kept putting it up over and over, and she sent it into overtime and then again to double overtime. It was just a great game.”
Trinity again held the lead in overtime but the Golden Bears rallied to force a second overtime period.
That’s when the Trojans dug deep on both ends of the court and outscored Waynedale, 8-0, to close out the win.
“De’Oshania Bennet is our senior and she had a big three to start the overtime,” Donaldson said. “She was able to hit that, and our defense solidified the victory down the stretch.”
Iniya Charlton led the Trojans with 18 points while Bennett finished with 11. Nila Thornton scored eight points, Jaila Wiggins contributed with six, and Neveah Harrison closed out the game with four.
Trinity advanced to play No. 12 Wooster Triway for the district title at Struthers High School on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
Moments after Trinity put the final touches on its win over Waynedale, Cuyahoga Heights used an extra period to down Norwayne.
“That was a good team,” said Cuyahoga Heights coach Al Martin of Norwayne. “That was a good win for us.”
The Red Wolves held the lead for most of the game.
They took a 19-15 lead into the break and led 28-23 heading into the fourth quarter.
That’s when the Bobcats made their move and tied the game, 35-35, at the end of regulation.
“We struggled a little bit in the fourth quarter and missed some free throws, and they were able to hit some big buckets to tie it,” Martin said. “We actually had the ball late, got a couple of foul shots, and didn’t make them.”
The Red Wolves fared better in overtime.
Reese Frank and Ava (Galek) drove and made some tough buckets in the paint and we got a little lead, and then they fouled and we made our foul shots,” Martin said. “We were struggling making our foul shots in regulation but we made six out of eight in overtime.”
Cuyahoga Heights’ defense tightened up in overtime.
Reece Frank did a great job on their point guard holding her to seven points,” Martin said. “She got a bucket late, but that was one of the keys (to victory). She’s a really nice player for them.”
Julia Jaenke led the Red Wolves with 21 points, Galek scored 13, Frank added eight, and Lauryn Wilson finished with three.
No. 8 Cuyahoga Heights advanced to play top-seeded Warrensville Heights for the district title at North Ridgeville High School on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
