Girls basketball: Brunswick hammers Medina in upset

BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick girls basketball team had a really good night and Medina played a game it would like to forget. That's probably the most succinct and accurate way to explain how the Blue Devils ripped the Bees 57-34 Saturday in a Greater Cleveland Conference battle that was more one-sided than the Brunswick gymnasium. "Brunswick came out really hungry and beat us in almost every category," Medina coach Karen Kase said. "They beat us in every phase. We really didn't do anything right today." The small but scrappy Blue Devils (6-5, 4-2) did a lot right while dominating the lethargic Bees (5-6, 3-3), who actually had to heat up in the second half to shoot 19.5% for the game. Medina, which had several role players battling illness, was a woeful 2-for-19 in the first half, including 0-for-9 in the second quarter, and 8-for-41 overall. "We were on the same page defensively," Brunswick shooting guard Aaliyah Wilson said. "We made sure we were on them off the rip." Wilson and backcourt partner Adaya Collenette took care of the offense in a game that also featured an Ally, Amaya, Aubrey, Amanda, Aly, Addy and two Abbys. Point guard Collenette, a natural right-hander, repeatedly went left and finished with extended scoop shots or conventional overhand layups while posting 19 points, four rebounds and five assists, with the latter being one more than Medina had as a team. When the talented junior didn't score, she often drew fouls and converted from the line, where she finished 8-for-9 as the Blue Devils made 18-of-22 (.818) and the Bees were 15-of-23 (.652). In a game where a lot of touch fouls were called and assault and battery was sometimes ignored — three players fouled out — those free throw numbers would have been even higher had the last three minutes not turned into play-nice garbage time. "If you're right-handed, left is your off hand, so I overworked it," Collenette said of her ability to go left. "Now I prefer going left over right." Medina was all too willing to allow her to repeatedly do so while also failing to close out defensively against Wilson, who has never met a shot she didn't think she could make. The sophomore hit five of Brunswick's nine 3-pointers in 24 attempts — the Bees were 3-of-15 from deep — en route to 18 points and five boards. A number of Wilson's makes came from well beyond the 19-foot, 9-inch arc, with several in the 28-foot range. Not only that, most of them went nearly as high before swishing through the net. "When I shoot it, I don't think about anything," she said. "I don't hesitate before I shoot it. I just let it fly." That became apparent very early, as Wilson hit two bombs off the jump to give Brunswick a 6-0 lead it never came close to relinquishing. "Wow," a smiling Collenette said. "The first two plays she hit those threes, and that was all the momentum we needed for the game. That brought energy to our defense." Wilson, who made half of her 10 3-point attempts, was equally pumped. "Those felt amazing," she said. "I love shooting. The first one was really far, so I thought, 'Let me see how far my range is today.'" The Blue Devils, who led 15-8, 25-13 and 40-26 at the quarter breaks before dominating even more in the fourth period, got solid contributions from a lot of people while getting just one point from talented forward Aubrey Hayes, who was in foul trouble throughout but still managed five boards. Freshman center Amaya Fluellen had three points and nine rebounds as Brunswick dominated the glass 37-22, while backup post Vanity Kersey went 5-for-5 at the line while grabbing seven boards and blocking three shots. "They were crucial," Collenette said. "We're small, so having them rebound is everything for us." Small forward Bri Sigmund added two 3-pointers for six points and reserve guard Cam Sheets scrapped her way to two points and five rebounds as Brunswick dominated in every aspect. "Threes, threes and more threes and great free throw shooters," Kase said of the Blue Devils. "It's 100% every year with them. We knew. We had a scouting report and I told them. They should have known, but we let them do it over and over." The Bees, who tried playing man-to-man defense and zone, got next to nothing from anyone outside of seniors Abby Dress and Addy Shook. Dress, a center out of necessity who plays outside on offense, had 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting, while power forward Shook, who attacked the hoop in spurts and made 7-of-10 at the line, finished with 11 points and a team-high five boards. The 11 remaining players who saw action for Medina combined to go 2-for-23 from the field, including 1-for-13 by the other three starters. When the Bees got decent looks against Brunswick's man-to-man, they missed most of them. On other occasions, they simply took bad shots or committed turnovers, especially in the first half. "That's not offense," Kase said. "That's not executing anything we've worked on for half a season and for many years before that." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Brunswick 57, Medina 34 MEDINA 8 5 13 8 — 34 BRUNSWICK 15 10 15 17 — 57 Medina — Kinley Miller 0-0-0, Addy Shook 2-7-11, Abby Dress 4-3-13, Gillian Kurka 0-1-1, Molly Gilbert 1-1-4, Vivian Kelps 0-1-1, Bri Kudley 0-0-0, Aly Gacek 1-0-2, Sydney Novak 0-1-1, Emma Carlson 0-1-1, Olivia Miller 0-0-0, Abby Novak 0-0-0, Cam Brown 0-0-0. TOTALS: 8-15-34. Brunswick — Bri Sigmund 2-0-6, Aubrey Hayes 0-1-1, Amaya Fluellen 1-1-3, Aaliyah Wilson 6-1-18, Adaya Collenette 5-8-19, Cam Sheets 0-2-2, Vanity Kersey 0-5-5, Lillianna Midea 1-0-3, Ally Aljabi 0-0-0, Ryleigh Zenda 0-0-0, Amanda Kamenar 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-18-57. 3-point goals — Dress 2, Gilbert, Wilson 5, Sigmund 2, Collenette, Midea. Rebounds — Medina 22 (Shook 5), Brunswick 37 (Fluellen 9). Assists — Medina 4 (Miller, Kurka, Gilbert, Shook), Brunswick 9 (Collenette 5). Records — Medina (5-6, 3-3), Brunswick (6-5, 4-2). Junior varsity — Brunswick 42, Medina 37 (M: A. Novak 10; B: Midea 14, Kamenar 11).