Kirtland fell behind early in its non-conference showdown with visiting Harvey on Saturday but the Hornets rallied to dominate the final three quarters in a 53-37 win over the Red Raiders.
With the victory, the Hornets improved to 9-0 on the year.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said Kirtland coach Bob Bell. .”Harvey came in and played with a lot of energy and they played a little bit more of an up-tempo game and we were OK with that. We didn’t shoot as well today as what we generally do, but in the end defense makes all the difference and overall as a team we played good defense.”
Jillian Hach and Nevada Melton combined for 11 points to help Harvey build a 14-13 first quarter lead. Hach finished the game with 12 points and Melton posted a team-high 13.
The Hornets made the necessary adjustments to slow down that duo in the final three quarters.
“Katie McCollister did an outstanding job guarding Jillian Hatch,” Bell said. “That’s a handful to guard that girl. She gets to the basket really well and Katie did a very nice job on her throughout the game.”
Sydney Snyder scored eight of her game-high 23 points in the second quarter as the Hornets took a 29-23 lead into the locker room.
They increased their advantage to 20 points in the second half and finished off outscoring the Red Raiders, 24-14, in the final 16 minutes of play.
Jenna Sayle pitched in with 12 points, Amber Yurick finished with six and McCollister, Lauren Snyder and Lauren Lutz all contributed with four points.
“Syd did a nice job leading us offensively, which is what she does best, and Jenna Sayle has now scored in double-figures the last three games in a row,” Bell said. “Her offensive game has picked up really well for us. Amber Yurick came off the bench and played very well for a freshman. Defense is still her stronger part of the game but she also can put it in the basket a little bit. The overall effort was very good. Lauren Snyder played strong at the two guard and Lauren Lutz had four points and four rebounds.”
Sydney Snyder and Sayle both notched double-doubles with 13 and 10 rebounds, respectively.
Kirtland travels to Chagrin Falls on Wednesday.
Kirtland 53, Harvey 37
Harvey (2-6): Hach 12, Grimes 2, Melton 13, Abdul 1, Fowler 2, Axson 7
Kirtland (9-0): McCollister 4, L. Snyder 4, S. Snyder 23, Sayle 12, Lutz 4, Yurick 6
Harvey 14 9 5 9 — 37
Kirtland 13 16 12 12 — 53
Free throws: Harvey 11 of 21, Kirtland 6 of 8; 3-pointers: Harvey 2 (Melton 2), Kirtland 3 (S. Snyder 3); Rebounds: Harvey 23, Kirtland 34 (S. Snyder 13); Assists: Harvey 7, Kirtland 21 (S. Snyder 10)
