Girls basketball: Oberlin foursome too much for Black River

OBERLIN — The Black River girls basketball team saw way too much of Clara McCown, Janiah Bowen-Pride, Jayana Jones and Candice Locklear on Monday evening. The Oberlin quartet combined for 55 points, 34 rebounds, 10 assists and five blocks as the Phoenix rolled to a 60-25 Lorain County League victory over the Pirates. The long-limbed and silky smooth McCown (15 points, 15 rebounds, 5 blocks) and ultra-aggressive, left-handed Bowen-Pride (17, 6, 3 assists) were particularly effective on both ends of the floor as Oberlin improved to 2-2, 1-0 by holding the Pirates (0-3, 0-1) to 5-for-49 shooting (.102) and forcing 31 turnovers. "We're trying to execute too quickly without letting the plays happen," Black River coach Erin Jackson said. "They rush things so much that they can't see the floor. "We need to work on ball fakes and cutting and not forcing plays. We tend to want to get rid of the ball instead of seeing the other girls." Oberlin, which played an aggressive man-to-man defense for the first three quarters and pushed the pace at every opportunity, had more than a little to do with that. McCown made the Pirates pay early, scoring eight points inside in the first quarter as the Phoenix took a 17-7 advantage and the Pirates shot 1-for-16 from the floor. "I kept my head up and made sure we kept the energy up," the senior said. "We were ball hungry. As soon as we had a chance to get the ball, we got it. Everyone played their roles tonight." With the Phoenix up 31-16 at intermission, Bowen-Pride took over in the second half, when she scored 11 points and frequently got open-court steals that were converted into layups or free throw opportunities. Bowen-Pride was just 3-for-22 from the field on the night — "I've got to quit shooting," the junior said with a laugh — but she made up for it by going 9-for-14 at the line. Eight of the shooting guard's free throw attempts came in an endless third quarter that saw Oberlin, whose first three games were on the road, go 9-for-18 at the stripe while outscoring the Pirates 19-5. "The key was coming out and playing like we did the last time against Open Door (Christian)," Bowen-Pride said of her team's first victory on Saturday. "Our plan today was to play like we did Saturday and keep up the good work. "Our defense was great. We were talking more. I think the home court boosted our energy." Oberlin also got 13 points, six boards and three assists from small forward Jones, who made three 3-pointers, and 10 points, seven rebounds and a game-high four assists from phyiscal point guard Locklear. The Pirates played hard throughout while recording their highest point total of the season — they are averaging 21.3 for the year — but their offensive woes were twofold: On many occasions, they didn't even get off a shot. When they did, they couldn't put the ball through the hoop, following their 1-for-16 first quarter with 2-for-10, 1-for-12 and 1-for-11 efforts over the final three periods. Freshman shooting guard Hailee Moskal, who is 5-foot-1, led or tied for the team lead in points (7), rebounds (9) and assists (1) and junior point guard Morgan Kubitz, who ended the game battered and bruised, had six points and five boards. The starting backcourt, however, combined to shoot 2-for-29 from the field. "We need to change our ball movement and make it faster," Moskal said. "We need to have our plays work out. "It's very important to cut those (turnovers) down. If we didn't have as many turnovers, we'd have more points and they wouldn't score as much." Black River, which finished a solid 13-for-17 at the line (.765) compared to Oberlin's 12-for-27 (.444), also got five points and three boards from power forward Aryanna Mullett and two points and eight rebounds from reserve Anya Koberna in a game that was played with a running clock over the final 4:58. Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Oberlin 60, Black River 25 BLACK RIVER 7 9 5 4 — 25 OBERLIN 17 14 19 10 — 60 Black River — Olivia Kovacic 0-0-0, Aryanna Mullett 2-0-5, Abbey Kiser 0-2-2, Hailee Moskal 1-5-7, Morgan Kubitz 1-4-6, Livy Fralick 1-0-3, Grace Racut 0-0-0, Samantha Fralick 0-0-0, Anya Koberna 0-2-2, Sam Cheek 0-0-0. TOTALS: 5-13-25. Oberlin — Jayana Jones 5-0-13, Larissa Freas 0-1-1, Clara McCown 7-1-15, Janiah Bowen-Pride 4-9-17, Candice Locklear 4-1-10, Tamara Adcox 0-0-0, Mar'Layihia Froust 1-0-2, Ava Myers 1-0-2, Arien James 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-12-60. 3-point goals — Mullett, L. Fralick, Jones 3, Locklear. Rebounds — Black River 35 (Moskal 9), Oberlin 43 (McCown 15). Assists — Black River 3 (Kiser, L. Fralick, Moskal), Oberlin 12 (Locklear 4). Records — Black River (0-3, 0-1), Oberlin (2-2, 1-0).