Haley Domen scored a team-high 16 points and Brittni Lawrence set a new school record with seven blocked shots in Cardinal’s 52-35 win at Richmond Heights on Monday.
Domen, a freshman, came off the bench to lead the Huskies in scoring and she stepped up on defense to help limit Richmond Heights standout Tamia Farris to 20 points.
“Haley stepped up in a big way for us tonight with 16 points and a huge effort in the first half where she knocked down about five shots in a row including two 3-pointers,” Cardinal coach Luke Kruse said. “Her energy and spark off the bench is one of our strengths and we are fortunate to have in my opinion the best ‘sixth man’ in the (Chagrin Valley Conference). She was even a key for us defensively, despite being about a foot shorter, in slowing down their 6-foot star Farris as she frustrated her with a few momentum-shifting steals.”
Lawrence scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds to go along with her school-record seven blocks.
“Brittni played incredible defense for us tonight against one of the best post players in the league in Tamia Farris,” Kruse said. “Her ability to stay vertical with her feet set resulted in her establishing a school record seven blocks against just two fouls. I can’t say enough how happy I am for her to get her name on the record board. It’s truly a reflection of how hard she has worked each year to improve every area of her game.”
Led Ashley Gubanyar with six and Domen win four, Cardinal recorded 14 steals in the game and the Huskies also posted 17 assists on 23 field goals.
“The steals were extremely frustrating for the other team and allowed us some great transition buckets,” Kruse said. “The assists are a reflection of the team’s willingness to be selfless and keeping their eyes up and ahead of them. Annamarie (Pollack) had a couple ‘wow’ passes in transition that got everyone excited.”
Adriana Naples contributed to the win with 10 points while Camille Cummins and Pollack both finished with five. Cummins led the Huskies with 10 rebounds.
“Adriana shot the ball extremely well tonight to finish with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, which gave us great spacing and someone to step up and get a good lead with a couple of our leading scorers having off nights on the offensive end,” Kruse said. “I’m encouraged by the girls’ play lately, as I really feel we are playing our best ball of the season right now heading into what should be a very good matchup with Cuyahoga Heights on Wednesday.”
Cardinal improved to 9-9 overall and 6-4 in the CVC Valley Division.
Farris led the Spartans with 20 points and Imani Hendon finished with 11.
Cardinal 52, Richmond Heights 35
Cardinal: Soltis 4, Cummins 5, Domen 16, Naples 10, Pollack 5, Fortenbury 3, Lawrence 8
Richmond Heights: Hendon 11, Farris 20, Smith 4
Cardinal 14 14 8 16 — 52
Richmond Hts. 8 4 5 18 — 35
Free throws: Cardinal 1 of 2, Richmond Heights 9 of 14; 3-pointers: Cardinal 5 (Domen 2, Cummins 1, Pollack 1, Fortenbury 1), Richmond Heights 2 (Hendon 2); Rebounds: Cardinal 25 (Cummins 10); Assists: Cardinal 16 (Gubanyar 6)
