Girls basketball: Cold snap sinks Brunswick against Olmsted Falls

ELYRIA — The Brunswick girls basketball team was right in it. Then it wasn't. The 22nd-seeded Blue Devils fell 51-26 to No. 3 Olmsted Falls in a Division I, Northeast 6 District semifinal Tuesday at Elyria Catholic because they missed 18 straight shots from late in the first period until late in the third. In getting outscored 26-6 in the middle quarters, Brunswick was 1-for-18 from the field. The Bulldogs (21-3), who reached the state championship game a year ago, advanced to play 15th-seeded Wadsworth, a 53-50 overtime winner over No. 21 Brecksville, in the district championship Friday at 7 p.m. at Elyria Catholic. The Blue Devils finished 14-10. Brunswick's Journey Hildebrand scored 16 points in her final high school game to finish her stellar four-year career with 1,552. The reigning Gazette MVP and Kent State recruit moved past 2016 Wadsworth graduate Jodi Johnson (1,541) and into third place on the Medina County career scoring list, 10 points behind the Grizzlies' second-place Katelyn Vujas (1,562, '99). Tanya Ross, a 2000 Buckeye grad, tops the list with 1,688. "She's such a great player and teammate," first-year coach Angela Fink said. "She has such a great attitude and she puts in the work. She's always fighting. She's one of the best players I've seen and she's going to do big things at Kent State." Behind Hildebrand, who also led her team with seven rebounds and two assists, and players like point guard Adaya Collenette (2 points), wing Lexi Bertemes (2, 5 rebounds), center Kiley Deighton (4, 6) and wing Grace Willkom (2, 2), the Blue Devils were able to have a successful season despite All-Gazette pick Faith Vlcek's decision not to play basketball as a senior and the transfers of 2022-23 players Audrey Parker (Copley), Ashlyn Dyson (Brookyn) and Kennedi Neale (Strongsville). "We exceeded my expectations," Fink said. "I'm just so proud of this group. With all the adversity they had right from the start, they pushed though everything and came together." The Blue Devils' downfall against the Bulldogs was a two-point, 0-for-11 shooting second quarter. Brunswick, which started 0-for-23 and was scoreless until two minutes remained in the first half of its sectional final win over Midview, trailed just 13-12 after one quarter against Olmsted Falls thanks to 10 points from Hildebrand, who accounted for 12 of her team's 14 points in the first half, when the Blue Devils shot 4-for-23 from the field and 1-for-17 outside of Hildebrand. Brunswick, which also missed its last shot of the first quarter and first seven of the third period, went 16:25 without a field goal. "It's tough playing a small group (of players) against a deep team like Olmsted Falls," Fink said. "We showed we came to play (in the first quarter), but the speed of the game just got to us." The Blue Devils finished 8-for-38 from the field (.211). Facing 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone defenses, the fast-paced Bulldogs shot just .338 (23-for-68), but they got up 30 more attempts than Brunswick thanks to a 39-24 rebounding advantage and their ability to force 19 turnovers. Olmsted Falls was led by Maddie Cerovac, the daughter of former Brunswick star baseball and basketball player Brad Cerovac, with 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists. The Bulldogs also got big games from point guard Danielle Cameron (12, 10, 2) and small forward Jesse Simon (13, 7, 2). Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Olmsted Falls 51, Brunswick 26 Division I, Northeast 6 District Semifinal BRUNSWICK 12 2 4 8 — 26 OLMSTED FALLS 13 14 12 12 — 51 Brunswick — Grace Willkom 0-2-2, Journey Hildebrand 4-7-16, Kiley Deighton 2-0-4, Lexi Bertemes 1-0-2, Adaya Collenette 1-0-2, Kendal Haber 0-0-0, Gisela Gatesman 0-2-2, Madison Venere 0-0-0, Olivia Moats 0-0-0, Aubrey Hayes 00-0-0, Cam Sheets 0-0-0. TOTALS: 8-9-26. Olmsted Falls — Jesse Simon 6-0-13, Maddie Cerovac 6-0-13, Emily Scina 0-0-0, Jessica Wolanin 1-0-2, Danielle Cameron 5-0-12, Avery DeLisio 1-0-3, Emma Schaefer 2-0-4, Grace Largent 2-0-4, Carli Nagy 0-0-0, Addison Mullen 0-0-0, Reese Timura 0-0-0, Ally Rumancik 0-0-0, Ava Mahoney 0-0-0. TOTALS: 23-0-51. 3-point goals — Hildebrand, Cameron 2, Simon, Cerovac, DeLisio. Rebounds — Brunswick 24 (Hildebrand 7), Olmsted Falls 39 (Cameron 10). Assists — Brunswick 4 (Hildebrand 2), Olmsted Falls 11 (Cerovac 3). Records — Brunswick (14-10), Olmsted Falls (21-3).