Angela Abel scored only two points for Avon Lake yesterday as her host
Shoregals lost to the Westlake Demons in Cleveland-area high school
play.  From today's PD:

Demons waste big lead, recover

Thursday, February 01, 2001

By JACK McDERMOTT
PLAIN DEALER REPORTER

  Westlake girls basketball coach Tom Seighman had to sleep a little
easier last night after a nightmare took place while he was on his feet
and moving around.

  Earlier in the evening, Seighman watched helplessly as his Demons
squandered a 32-22 lead with 5:40 remaining in regulation before
regaining their composure to post a 41-37 Southwestern Conference
overtime win over host Avon Lake.

  Westlake (13-3, 11-0 in the SWC) holds a two-game lead on the
Shoregals with three conference games to play. The loss dropped Avon
Lake to 13-4, 9-2, with both conference losses to the Demons.

  "Obviously I’m very pleased with the win, especially on their floor,"
Seighman said. "However, overtime is not what we wanted, but what we got
ourselves into. I told the girls to enjoy the win tonight, but be ready
to play tomorrow night at practice, because we’ve got three more league
games to play before it’ll be time to celebrate a conference title."

  The Demons shared the SWC crown in 1990 with the Shoregals.

  Westlake took a 23-15 lead in the first half, thanks, in part, to a
15-point second quarter effort that included three straight 3-point
baskets, two by senior Jenny Slater and one by senior Kelly Bambrick. No
sooner had Slater connected on her first one, with 7:06 left before
intermission, giving the Demons an 11-5 lead, than Avon Lake responded
with six straight points on baskets by sophomore Amanda Medders, senior
Angela Abel and junior Laura McClung.

  But Slater connected on her second 3-pointer and Bambrick scored from
long range on the right for a 17-11 lead with 4:28 left in the half. The
Demons then used a basket by senior Anne Gardner and a free throw each
from Bambrick and senior Kristen Wan to take a 23-15 lead.

  Junior Megan Banks, who leads the Demons with a 12.1-point average,
accounted for her team’s entire third-quarter output, sinking two shots
from the field. Avon Lake, meanwhile, managed to trim just one point
from Westlake’s lead, cutting the gap to 27-20 entering the fourth
quarter.

  The Shoregals outscored Westlake, 13-6, in the fourth period to tie
the game at 33 as McClung scored from 15 feet on the left side with 43
seconds left in regulation. Senior Becky King led the Shoregals in the
quarter with six of her 10 points, and McClung scored four of her
team-high 11 points in the period.

  Avon Lake had the final scoring opportunity of regulation, with senior
Leslie Wilhelm tossing up a shot from the right side. But the ball
bounced off the rim as the horn sounded.

  King gave Avon Lake its last lead of the game, 35-33, making the first
basket of overtime. The lead was short-lived as Bambrick sank her second
3-pointer of the night just 26 seconds later to put Westlake on top to
stay.

  "This just wasn’t our night," said Avon Lake coach Amy Manco. "From
the beginning of the game on, the ball just wouldn’t go in on our end of
the floor. I give them credit, they carried out their game plan to
perfection."

E-mail: jmcderm...@plaind.com

Phone: 440-934-0400

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