Girls basketball: Cloverleaf's Evie Barth menace on both ends of court in home finale

WESTFIELD TWP. — One of the most prolific scorers in Cloverleaf girls basketball history was taking zero chances in what was almost certainly the final home game of her career. Evie Barth was everywhere on both ends of the court Wednesday in a Division IV, Northeast 4 quarterfinal against 30th-seeded Ravenna. The senior star was a defensive menace and offensive dynamo, highlighting a great night for the Colts' seniors in a 61-19 blowout that was never really in doubt. Cloverleaf (18-5), which won the second quarter 22-0, advanced to play at ninth-seeded Streetsboro (15-7) or at home against No. 31 Orange (4-15) on Tuesday. The 10th-seeded Colts' game against the Ravens (5-18) was moved up a night due to the boys team already having a makeup home game against Ravenna scheduled for this evening. "It was good experience because, obviously, we won by a lot," said Barth, who is 17th in Medina County history with 1,271 career points. "Playing on that court one last time with the people I've been playing with since I was 10 years old, I was realizing it after the game that is kind of sad. I'm not going to play here again unless there's a all-star game (or Orange upset of Streetsboro) that might be held here." Barth was unstoppable in the game-deciding second, scoring with 12 of her game-high 22 points. The four-year starter also had three rebounds, three assists and eight steals while shooting 10-for-12 inside the 3-point line. Kayla Shook added four points and a team-leading seven rebounds, Merrin Crow did a great job boxing out standout Ravens center Jalysia Thompson en route to four points, five boards and two blocks, Madi Young made a 3-pointer, Jayce Kreider banked home a putback and Addie Evans had four points and four rebounds. Kendall Seiwerth was the most notable non-senior statistically with nine points as the Colts, who had 15 assists, played well in the middle quarters in their second game without second-leading scorer Makinsey Bayer (hamstring). "I felt like we played really well together today," Crow said. "We had lots of ball movement and a lot of good, open shots by giving the ball to players who don't normally get it." In the teams' previous meeting on Jan. 17, Thompson had 12 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, five steals and eight blocks. While her overall line of 13 points, 11 boards and four rejections Wednesday was very solid, Shook and Crow did a solid job keeping the 6-foot-1 senior with soft hands out of position to take over the game until garbage time. No one else had more than three points for Ravenna, which shot 0-of-11 and committed 12 turnovers in the fateful second quarter. "Definitely just playing our game and running the floor, that's how we want to play the game," Barth said. "That's our style of play: just scoring in transition, stealing off the dribble, stealing off the pass. We got a ton of steals that quarter, a ton of fast breaks." Shook got a rare chance to play in front of her cousin, as Medina being idle allowed All-Gazette forward Addy Shook to make the trip south. The blowout also allowed for a special moment in the fourth quarter, as Merrin and Pacey Crow got to play together in Pacey's varsity debut. The game wasn't a thriller by any means, but it was memorable nonetheless. "It was really exciting," a smiling Merrin Crow said. "I'm glad I did get to play with her because this is the first varsity game that's she's played. I was super excited to be on the court with her." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Division IV, Northeast 2 District quarterfinal Cloverleaf 61, Ravenna 19 RAVENNA &emsp;&emsp;6 0 9 4 — 19 CLOVERLEAF &emsp;&emsp;13 22 20 6 — 61 Ravenna — Loudon White 0-0-0, Jeilany Malave Acosta 1-1-3, Jalysia Thompson 6-1-13, Mackenzie Ervin 0-0-0, Miriyha Sandifer 0-0-0, Noma White 1-0-3, Kayden Welz 0-0-0, Emilia Franklin 0-0-0. TOTALS: 8-2-19. Cloverleaf — Cameron Todd 2-0-5, Kendall Seiwerth 4-1-9, Kayla Shook 2-0-4, Madi Young 1-0-3, Evie Barth 10-2-22, Merrin Crow 2-0-4, Selena Velez 2-0-4, Addie Evans 2-0-4, Jayce Kreider 1-0-2, Keegan Wittman 2-0-4, Pacey Crow 0-0-0, Samantha Porter 0-0-0, Lily Dluzynski 0-0-0, Delaney Bishop 0-0-0. TOTALS: 28-3-61. 3-point goals — N. White, Todd, Young. Rebounds — Ravenna 27 (Thompson 11), Cloverleaf 32 (Shook 7). Assists — Ravenna 5 (Acosta 2), Cloverleaf 15 (Velez 4). Records — Ravenna (5-18), Cloverleaf (18-5).