Postseason for River begins with bang
By Matt Pawlikowski
Sports
Published Feb. 21, 2007

Maureen Kessler shows her diversity, as not only can she score but alos play defense, as she pulls dow a rebound. (Photo by Larry Bennet)

Rocky River’s thumping of Brookside in the sectional opener came as no surprise, but getting the game under the team’s wings as a first seed was important to head coach Michael Murray.

Like most schools this week, River had two snow days, meaning time missed from the gym. But, Murray said that he decided not to take a bye at the seedings meeting, because it would have meant sitting out for at least 13 days without a game.

“That was important for us, because as you could see, we struggled at first, and weren’t assertive on defense,’’ said Murray. “That’s expected after a seven day break, but we played a lot of kids, and they did what they had to do.”

Brookside coach Gene Leonard always has his team prepared, but the talent the Cardinals possessed was much inferior to the Pirates. Still, for the first half, they gave River a game.

At one point, Brookside led 8-4, and after a quarter it was 13-10 River. The Pirates stepped up its defensive pressure in the second quarter, but Brookside, despite scoring just eight points, still was in the game, and down just eight at half.

The second half was a different story.  Whatever Murray said to them in lockeroom, must have been inspiring. Not only did they outscore the Cardinals 20-4, but Murray was also able to get a number of players into the game.

“Brookside came in with a game plan, and they executed it very well in the first half,” said Murray. “We had 13 kids score at least a point; Kealy (McNally) is 100 percent healthy now, and it shows we can count on a number of kids to get the job done for us now.”

While McNally was pulled after River took an 18-point game after coming down hard on her ankle, she still scored six points. Leading the way for the Pirates was Kristen Strang, who has really come on strong as of late. Strang led all scorers with 14 points.

“I had that many?” she said with a huge grin after the game. “I feel like I’ve started to pick my game up. I’m just glad I can keep helping the team.”

Instead of talking about herself though, Strang deferred her comments to what the rest of the team was doing, and said you should talk with Hanna (Pempus). Pempus also had a nice game, putting up six points.

“It was great to get out there and play tonight,’’ said Pempus. “We had a rough start, but picked it up, and when we started playing defense, we started playing much better. It was fun to watch everyone get in there and play.”

Murray said that Strang, who helped pick up the slack when McNally was out for two games at the end of the season, has been a boost, along with the play of a number of other girls on the team.

“Kristen, she’s doing just great,”said Murray. “And Maureen Kessler (five points), she set the table for us, and played great defensively. Those two give us a great post combination. We have a number of kids who can come in and play multiple postions.”

Murray also singled out the play of Justine Beres, who had four points, and Mary Beth Leitch, who had seven off the bench, and the defensive play of Brooke Towner, who was excited about the win.

“It feels really good; it’s awesome how we’re doing,” she said. “I think what makes it so good is we’re playing like a team, no one is selfish, and everyone is doing well.”

The Pirates get back into action again tonight against Buckeye, who had a first round bye. Last year the Pirates knocked them out in the sectional final, but according to Murray they are a dangerous team, one that is just a few years removed from making it to regional action.

“We played them last year, and they had all kinds of seniors,’’ said Murray. “They do have a nice freshman post player, and some of the kids who played on that regional team are playing really well. They’ve been on a roll as late, and Connie Rummell does a great job.”

If there was one thing noticeable about River, it was the fact there was no overconfidence, and that they were loose and relaxed, and playing the game like it should be - fun.

“We’re excited, and I think they have accepted the challenge,” said Murray. “What we’re preaching every game is that we are playing now for the next one. One team is going home, and one is moving on, so our goal is to keep moving on, and we don’t care how we win, whether it’s ugly or pretty.”