An opportunity to play on the same court as their basketball heroes was more important to the Independence and Cardinal girls’ basketball teams than the final score.
The Blue Devils improved to 8-0 with a 55-18 win over the Huskies on Monday afternoon, but the experience of playing at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland is something players from both teams will always remember.
“It was a different atmosphere that gave us a chance to play well together despite the change of scenery,” Independence’s Haylee Dmitruk said. “It was cool to play on a court like that and was a game my teammates and I won’t forget.”
Dmitruk scored a game-high 15 points in the win.
Madison Stepanik added 10 and Riley Wilson finished with nine for the Blue Devils.
It was a rough day for the Huskies, at least related to the final score, but squaring up to shoot at the same hope used by LeBron and Curry and the other NBA stars softened the blow.
“It was fun,” Cardinal coach Joe DiMattia said. “Everybody had a good time. It was pretty cool being behind the scenes before the game and getting to play on the same court as the Cavs. Not a lot of people get to do that. After the game, we all went out to eat, then spent some time at Tower City. It was a nice team-bonding experience.”
Taylor Soltis led the Huskies with six points and Haley Domen added four.
“Even though the score didn’t go our way, we all got an amazing experience of all being able to get everyone in and play,” Domen said. “I think we can all can say it was a fun time playing at the (Fieldhouse). For me, it was definitely different, trying to be able to figure out the court and readjusting.”
