by Devan Matthews

Correspondent

After opening the 2009-10 season with a home loss to Ravenna, the Tallmadge girls basketball team bounced back with a victory over Norwayne.

The Lady Blue Devils dropped a 56-39 decision to the Ravens Nov. 28. Then Tallmadge edged the Bobcats by a 47-42 margin on the road Dec. 1.

The Ravenna game was close early, as the score was tied 13-13 at the end of the opening quarter. Then the Ravens outscored the Lady Blue Devils 12-7 in the second period, 16-9 in the third stanza and 15-10 in the final frame.

According to Tallmadge head coach Jeff Manion, the Lady Blue Devils were able to build some early momentum, but Ravenna made adjustments.

“Ravenna opened the game in a zone defense and we were able to capitalize on some early open looks,” he said. “We jumped out to a quick lead and then Ravenna changed to a man-to-man defense. They forced us into some turnovers and hurt us on the boards all game.”

Senior guard Fernanda Frajia led the Lady Blue Devils with 10 points. 

In addition, senior guard Audrey Hooverman scored nine points and senior guard Karley DeLorenzo contributed eight points and six steals.

Four other players cracked the scoreboard for Tallmadge. 

Those four were senior forward Abby Prulhiere (five points), junior forward Jen Brumbaugh (three points), senior guard Taylor Allen (two) and senior forward Amanda Kowaleski (two).

Tallmadge made just 12-of-47 field-goal attempts, including 5-of-10 from three-point range. The Lady Blue Devils also were 10-of-14 at the free-throw line.

The Norwayne game was a back-and-forth affair until the second half.

Tallmadge led 13-9 after one quarter of play, but the Bobcats outscored the Lady Blue Devils 16-11 in the second period to secure a one-point lead (25-24) at intermission.

Tallmadge edged Norwayne 9-7 in the third stanza and then pulled away in the final frame with a 14-10 run to account for the final five-point margin of victory.

According to Manion, the third period proved to be the decisive one in the game. That’s because the Bobcats started the second half aggressively, stretching their one-point lead substantially before the Lady Blue Devils changed the tide of the contest.

“My kids had to play catch up after a slow third-quarter start,” said Manion. “Norwayne made a run in the third and had us by seven or eight points. Then we made a nice run to finish the quarter leading by one.”

Once again, Frajia paced the Lady Blue Devils offensively. Not only did she tally a team-high 12 points, but she also knocked down four foul shots late in the contest to salt away the victory.

Also scoring in double digits was Allen, who recorded a career-high 10 points. Prulhiere led the squad in rebounding with 12 boards.

Hooverman was nearly in double figures with nine points, while Prulhiere registered six points.

The Lady Blue Devils shot the ball a little better against Norwayne. They were 18-of-54 from the field overall, although they hit just 3-of-15 tries from downtown.

Tallmadge drained only 8-of-15 free throw attempts.

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