Girls basketball: Olivia Klanac sets county scoring record as Medina beats Euclid

EUCLID — On Nov. 24, 2021, Medina girls basketball player Olivia Klanac debuted against Wadsworth. The then-freshman made a big splash, scoring 20 points in a 48-46 win. In 1,170 days since, Klanac has added tons of accolades to her résumé. In a 57-26 blowout win over Greater Cleveland Conference foe Euclid on Wednesday, she earned arguably the biggest of them all. With a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, the reigning Gazette MVP scored her 1,689th career point to surpass Buckeye star Tanya Ross (1,688, 1996-2000) as Medina County's leader. She drained one more triple to give her 24 points on the night and 1,692 for her career before taking a seat. "I didn't even know it was the record at the time," Klanac said. "They called a timeout and told me it was the record. "There's been so many ups and downs throughout my season, so I think it is just so cool to see how far (God) has brought me. Where we are as a team, I think we are going up from here, and we have a lot more to take care of." Even with the tremendous start to her career, not many envisioned this was something that could happen. "I don't know if I thought she was going to do this four years ago," said Medina's Karen Kase, Klanac's coach for all four seasons. "I knew she was a scorer, but I didn't know if it was realistic. That's a lot of points. I think for someone like me to see at least 1,000 points is amazing, but to then have her break the record is cool. Each year passed by and — definitely this season — you saw it being possible and reachable. "We are really proud of her. She puts in a lot of work. She does a lot of shooting on her own. It's to her credit that she does that." Those who have pushed close recently include Brunswick's Journey Hildebrand (1,552) and Black River's Riley Kubitz (1,397). Both graduated last season and missed notable time due to injuries. "It is really cool to see my name up there," Klanac said. "Overall, I am just out here playing and these things have been given to me by God. I am just so grateful." Already the Medina leader for points (44) and 3-pointers (8) in a game, the 5-foot-9 senior entered Wednesday having scored at least 20 points in each of the last six games. The highlight was the 44 points that included eight threes against Shaker Heights on Jan. 22. "I definitely have put a lot of work in the offseason," Klanac said. "I think closing out my career here at Medina, I just want to do everything I can to help my team win plus go far in the tournament. I am taking the load on myself, but I know that I have some help with me." The Coastal Carolina recruit got some help as the Bees (15-4, 9-2) blew out the Panthers (4-17, 0-11). Playing a clearly overmatched Euclid squad, Klanac could have come out firing from everywhere in an attempt to pad her stats. Instead, she focused on getting others involved, passing up some shots to dish to more open teammates. "It's really fun," Medina post Abby Dress said of playing with Klanac. "It helps our team out a lot when we know she can score, we know she can pass, she can do all of it. It is really fun knowing we have someone that can help us out on the court and off the court. She is our No. 1 leader." Dress (15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) was got things going early for Medina, which led 30-0 before the Panthers finally scored on a basket by Leshawn Hamilton with 1:45 left in the first half. "We started in a zone, and before the game we wanted to work on that," Dress said. "In our last game, our zone was not as good as it usually is. We focused on what we wanted to do so we can apply it in our next game. We focused on getting deflections and turnovers so we can use it in the next game." Medina forced 19 first-half turnovers using the pressing defense on its way to a 34-5 lead at the break. "I don't think we've held a team to zero points in a quarter this season," Kase said. "I think it has been done in my tenure, but not this season. That was an awesome start. We were valuing and taking care of the ball and we were sharing it. We said the ball has to have energy, and we were moving it and getting stops." Klanac had nine points at halftime, while Dress and Addy Shook (11 points, 2 assist, 3 steals, block) combined for 22 points. Delilah Simmons led the Panthers with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Emery McMahan was next up with 11 points. Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Medina 57, Euclid 26 MEDINA&emsp;19 15 10 13 — 57 EUCLID&emsp;0 5 9 10 — 26 Medina — Molly Gilbert 1-1-3, Addy Shook 5-0-11, Abby Dress 5-3-15, Olivia Klanac 10-0-24, Emma Giehart 0-0-0, Kori Swihart 0-0-0, Aly Galek 0-2-2, Olivia Hamm 0-0-0, Emily Fischer 1-0-2, Emma Carlson 0-0-0, Olivia Miller 0-0-0, Olivia Taylor 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-6-57. Euclid — Asia Wilkerson 0-1-1, Emery McMahan 4-1-11, Delilah Simmons 5-1-12, Sy'Eire Fritz 0-0-0, Jaylin Hammond 0-0-0, Kyndall Robinson 0-0-0, Saniyah Davey 0-0-0, Jozy Mayhand 1-0-2, Leshawn Hamilton 0-0-0, Hannah Robertson 0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-3-26. 3-point goals — Klanac 4, Dress 2, Shook, McMahan 2, Simmons. Rebounds — Medina 31 (Gilbert 10), Euclid 25 (Simmons 8). Assists — Medina 12 (Gilbert, Klanac 3), Euclid 6 (Fritz, Wilkerson 2). Records — Medina (15-4, 9-2), Euclid (4-17, 0-11). Junior varsity — Medina 37, Euclid 21 (M: Fischer 12, Taylor 10).