Streetsboro, OH- On Wednesday evening the OHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament opened play across the state. In Division 2 - Region 5 the #7 seed Streetsboro Rockets hosted the #24 seed Painesville Harvey Red Raiders. The Rockets came in riding an 8 game winning streak to close out the regular season as coach Carl Singer was looking for career coaching win #100 with the program.
The Rockets got off to a fast start with a 7-0 run forcing a Harvey timeout over three minutes into the game. Out of the timeout Olivia Johnson-Wilson made it a 9-0 run with a bucket before Haleigh Lewis scored for the Red Raiders to stop the bleeding. Maddy Hajec would rattle off five straight points for Streetsboro on a three ball and a pair of free throws before Dede Crawford beat the buzzer with a jumper for Harvey. The Rockets held a 14-4 lead after one.
The second quarter was brutal for both teams as they went ice cold from the floor. It was a quarter filled with missed shots and turnovers that frustrated both coaches. Each team mustered only 2 points a piece making the halftime score 16-6 in favor of the Rockets. Ella Kassan and Maddy Hajec each had 5 points for the Lady Rockets.
Streetsboro came out of halftime and turned up the heat on both sides of the ball. They began the second half just as they did the first half on a 7-0 run to take a 21-6 lead. Ella Kassan would then score the next 6 consecutive points as the lead stretched to 29-6 before Haleigh Lewis scored with 1:10 to play in the third. 29-8 Rockets lead after three.
The two teams went back and forth to open the final quarter with each team scoring on their first two possessions before the Rockets went on their third 7-0 run of the night with 5 of the points courtesy of Sydney Abbuhl. At that point the Rockets were in total control with a 41-12 lead. Coach Singer pulled his starters as they received a nice ovation from the home crowd. Harvey would outscore Streetsboro 9-1 the rest of the way to make the final 42-21 in favor of the Lady Rockets.
Ella Kassan led all scorers with 13 points for Streetsboro. Sydney Abbuhl and Maddy Hajec each chipped in 9 points while Naomi Benson grabbed 14 rebounds.
Sana Hicks, Zharia McMullen and Haleigh Lewis each scored 4 points for the Red Raiders.
The Rockets will move on to face the #4 seed Chagrin Falls Tigers on Saturday at 1:00 PM at Chagrin Falls. The Rockets beat the Tigers on their home floor 34-28 on February 4th.
After the game coach Singer was honored and celebrated for his 100th coaching win with the program!
Post game interviews with Coach Singer and Maddy Hajec
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