Girls basketball: Cloverleaf hangs around, but fades in loss to Louisville

WESTFIELD TWP. — The margin for error tightened as the Cloverleaf girls basketball team played its first game without second-leading scorer Makinsey Bayer (hamstring) on Monday. The Colts scrapped well against battle-tested Louisville for three quarters but fell apart decisively in the fourth, losing 52-38 in what amounted to a solid non-league postseason tune-up. With its Division IV tournament opener against Ravenna on tap Wednesday, Cloverleaf (17-5) scored just 13 points in the second half against the well-coached Leopards (12-10), whose all-independent schedule also includes close games with Dalton (15-6), Waynedale (15-7), Tallmadge (16-6), Canton Central Catholic (17-5) and Warren John F. Kennedy (13-5). "It's a lot when you're playing a team of that caliber," Colts coach John Carmigiano said in regard to playing without 12.7-point scorer Bayer, who also will not suit up Wednesday. "Louisville did almost everything right." The Leopards did a great job fighting over high screens to take away a lot of the perimeter opportunities for 1,200-point Cloverleaf scorer Evie Barth. Louisville also had height to defend the rim with Ella Tillett and Mabel Kiko, negating the Colts' otherwise drive-heavy attack. Barth finished with a season-low seven points on 2-for-12 shooting, but other players helped out. Cameron Todd made three 3-pointers in the first quarter, including a rushed transition heave at the buzzer off a Merrin Crow pass, developing sophomore post Kendall Seiwerth added 10 points and Kayla Shook hauled in seven rebounds. Cloverleaf was 5-for-12 from 3-point range while trailing only 34-31 after three quarters. The Colts committed four turnovers and made only 2-of-7 shots in the 18-7 fourth. "We had some people stepping up and making shots," Carmigiano said. "They were putting a lot of pressure on (Barth), and I thought that our other players were really keeping us in the game. "We knew it was the type of game where we couldn't have too much separation or we'd be in big trouble. In the first half, I thought we were doing a great job of matching whatever they did and keeping it within reason." Sticking to an unselfish system that prioritizes passing and cutting over dribbling, Louisville got tremendous balance to make 7-of-10 field goals, 2-of-2 3-pointers and 2-of-3 free throws in the fourth. The Leopards, who used only six players when the game was still in doubt, also won the rebounding battle 34-20. Constantly moving shooting guard Mikayla Salmons led the way with 16 points and a game-high five assists. Point guard Maggie Baker overcame a 1-for-13 shooting start to make four of her final six attempts for 14 points, while posts Kiko and Tillett combined for 19 points, 19 rebounds and two blocks. Louisville also executed a spread offense extremely well in the final minutes, as its guards kept their heads up to find baseline flashers for easy layups. "They're very physical and very long, so it's hard to attack the basket," Carmigiano said. "A lot of our game is attacking the basket — either making the play or kicking it out — and they did a good job of jamming up the middle. "We were just having a hard time scoring. On top of that, when the lead got to double digits, they did an excellent job of spreading the floor out where they were only going to take time off the clock or make layups. They executed that to perfection." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Louisville 52, Cloverleaf 38 LOUISVILLE &emsp;&emsp;12 14 8 18 — 52 CLOVERLEAF &emsp;&emsp;13 12 6 7 — 38 Louisville — Makayla Tanner 0-0-0, Mabel Kiko 4-1-9, Ella Tillett 5-0-10, Mikayla Salmons 5-5-16, Maggie Baker 6-0-14, Lilly Seaman 1-0-3, Kloey Rukavina 0-0-0, Ava Seitz 0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-6-52. Cloverleaf — Selena Velez 0-0-0, Kendall Seiwerth 4-2-10, Kayla Shook 0-2-2, Madi Young 2-0-5, Evie Barth 2-2-7, Merrin Crow 1-0-3, Cameron Todd 3-0-9, Addie Evans 1-0-2, Jayce Kreider 0-0-0, Keegan Wittman 0-0-0. TOTALS: 13-6-38. 3-point goals — Baker 2, Salmons, Seaman, Todd 3, Young, Barth, Crow. Rebounds — Louisville 34 (Tillett 10), Cloverleaf 20 (Shook 7). Assists — Louisville 14 (Salmons 5), Cloverleaf 10 (Young 3). Records — Louisville (12-10), Cloverleaf (17-5). Junior varsity — Cloverleaf 43, Louisville 21 (C: Pacey Crow 10).