Jackson girls basketball's 'really special group' advances to OHSAA district finals
MEDINA — The Jackson High School girls basketball team knew it wouldn't be pretty beating Avon Lake in the Division I district semifinals. The Polar Bears also knew that they had to play scrappy defensively.
It was shaky in the first half, but the Bears delivered in the second half of their 37-25 victory Tuesday evening.
"That's kind of what we hung our hat on all year. It's our defensive effort," Jackson coach Anthony Butch said." We kind of played their matchup zone and keyed some of their key players, and we knew Avon Lake was a great team, and very physical and very athletic."
With the win, the Polar Bears moved on to the district finals on Friday to face Solon, a 65-63 winner over Strongsville in the second semifinal Tuesday.
More: Tuesday high school results: Lake, Jackson girls basketball advance to OHSAA district finals
The first half was low scoring because of a combination of turnovers and defensive stops. Jackson's aggressive zone defense prevented Avon Lake from attempting any 3-pointers until late in the fourth quarter.
Jackson held leads of 7-2 after one quarter and 11-10 at the half. The Polar Bears knew they had to make a statement early in the third quarter.
"We told them at halftime that those first four minutes in the third quarter was going to dictate how the rest of that game went," Butch said. "I'm so proud of this team. I don't think there's anyone who thought this team was going to have 21 wins, starting two freshmen and a sophomore, and what we lost last year. It's a really special group."
Jackson expanded its lead to 26-16 after three quarters and then opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run.
Avon Lake fought aggressively against Jackson and put its defensive focus on Tiffin commit Megan Campbell, who scored five points Tuesday for the Bears.
Jackson's Madison Lepley and Ashley Lahmers stepped up in the second half and finished the game with a combined 28 points.
"We watched some film, and we knew that they defended the best players, so we knew that they were going to face (guard) Megan, but (Coach Butch) told us it'll be OK, just be confident," Lepley said.
Lahmers keyed a strong start to the third quarter by Jackson, knocking down two straight 3-pointers to give Jackson a 22-16 lead. Lahmers finished with 13 points.
In the fourth, Lepley scored straight baskets at one point on her way to scoring 15 points.
"Our sophomore, Madison Lepley, had an incredible game," Butch said. "Where she's come from Game 1 to Game 24 is unbelievable. She was the best player on the court today."
Jackson limited Avon Lake's leading scorer, Olivia Tobin, to just three late 3-pointers. No Avon Lake player reached double figures in scoring.
"We definitely work together," Lahmers said. "We have the momentum going even when you are experiencing adversities and downfalls. We just lean on each other so we knew that we could be confident in each other and the team. "
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Jackson High School girls basketball advances to OHSAA district finals
