Girls basketball: Highland beats Roosevelt for milestone win for coach James Madison

GRANGER TWP. — There was a lot to unpack Wednesday night after the Highland girls basketball team defeated Roosevelt 64-48 to remain tied with Copley atop the Suburban League American Conference. The Hornets honored seniors Grace Shondel and Kennedy Lawson, complete with doughnuts in the cafeteria afterward. Coach James Madison picked up his 150th victory at Highland. Rough Riders center Claire Van Damme scored her 1,000th career point. Maybe most important to Highland's immediate future, however, was the play of Jordyn Caples. The fleet-footed junior starred in the decisive middle quarters and had a big smile on her face. "Winning in transition helped a lot because we were getting up and down the court," she said. "The energy was really good on senior night. It's always exciting. "Oh, my gosh, I love them so much. I grew up with 'Shon' playing soccer and I've been close with them since middle school basketball. My freshman year I started playing with 'Kenn' and we've been close." A 5-foot-5 guard who fits Highland's downhill offensive philosophy well, Caples scored nine of her career-high 13 points in the middle quarters, which the Hornets (16-2, 10-2) won 39-21. She had four steals in the second quarter alone, tied Sophia Madison for the team lead with four rebounds and dished out a pair of assists. Often the fifth or sixth scoring option in a very well-balanced offense — nine players average between 2.4 and 11.3 points — Caples was a bit hesitant early before getting a breather. She then attacked the rim impressively the rest of the night, making the Rough Riders (13-6, 6-6) pay time and again. "Going back in I knew what I needed to do," a smiling Caples said. "I executed." "I was proud she made the adjustments," James Madison said. "She had one of the bigger games of her career." Highland got off to a slow start but took control after switching to a press. Sophia Madison's 3-pointer sparked a game-changing 10-3 run spanning from late in the first quarter to early in the second that was capped by Rowan Kildoo scoring seven straight Hornets points. Highland's defense also forced 11 turnovers in the second quarter before the Rough Riders could get off a field goal attempt. Kildoo finished with a team-high 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Shondel posted 12 points, four dimes and six thefts and Emeri Gausman did a solid job bumping 6-foot-3 Northern Michigan recruit Van Damme (16 points, 12 rebounds) off her preferred position of the block and toward the elbows. James Madison improved to 150-39 in just his eighth season, and his .794 winning percentage trails only Wadsworth's Scott Callaghan (.870, 2000-05) and Todd Osborn (.839, 1993-2000) among Medina County coaches with at least 100 wins. He, of course, deflected credit because he hates the spotlight and wants his players to have a lot of creative freedom on the court. The old-school Madison was particularly proud of the way the Hornets played on the night they honored two players he's coached for nearly a decade, Shondel and Lawson. The latter shined with three assists in the fourth quarter. "You know what? It's not about me," he said. "It's about the players. I've had a lot of good players and good assistant coaches, so it's nice to get 150 career wins, but there are a lot of people responsible for that." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Highland 64, Roosevelt 48 ROOSEVELT &emsp;&emsp;9 6 15 18 — 48 HIGHLAND &emsp;&emsp;14 23 16 11 — 64 Roosevelt — Mahlia Friedman 2-1-6, Lindsay Wills 0-0-0, Claire Van Damme 5-5-16, Audrey Haines 2-0-6, Grace Schoenberger 2-0-5, Brooklyn Frank 0-0-0, Ava Elliot 1-0-2, Maggie Pazderak 1-0-2, Lexi Schiavoni 3-0-6, Samantha Maccarone 2-0-5, Ella Chambers 0-0-0, Sarah Kahn 0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-6-48. Highland — Madi Morgan 1-1-3, Emeri Gausman 2-0-4, Kennedy Lawson 0-0-0, Rowan Kildoo 5-1-14, Grace Shondel 5-1-12, Jordyn Caples 6-1-13, Scarlet Gordon 0-0-0, Sophia Madison 3-0-7, Maddie Ricciuti 3-0-6, Alaina Weingart 2-0-5, Anna Coleman 0-0-0. TOTALS: 27-4-64. 3-point goals — Haines 2, Friedman, Van Damme, Schoenberger, Maccarone, Kildoo 3, Shondel, Madison, Weingart. Rebounds — Roosevelt 34 (Van Damme 12), Highland 19 (Madison, Caples 4). Assists — Roosevelt 7 (Van Damme 2), Highland 19 (Shondel 4). Records — Roosevelt (13-6, 6-6), Highland (16-2, 10-2). Junior varsity — Highland 40, Roosevelt 18 (H: Weingart 12).