by Devan Matthews

Correspondent

It was definitely a rough week for the Tallmadge girls basketball team, as the Lady Blue Devils suffered losses to Suburban League foes Wadsworth and Copley.

The Wadsworth game was particularly disheartening, as Tallmadge sustained an 83-42 defeat. 

The Lady Blue Devils also lost a 46-31 decision to Copley Feb. 3 on the road.

Tallmadge started the game decently against Wadsworth, leading 7-6 early in the opening quarter. However, the Grizzlies embarked upon a 17-2 run to the end the period.

Wadsworth outscored Tallmadge 28-11 in the second stanza, 19-13 in the third quarter and 13-9 during the fourth frame. It all added up to a 41-point win for Wadsworth.

“[Wadsworth] usually forces teams into turnovers with their defense,” said Tallmadge head coach Jeff Manion. “However, we did a nice job of taking care of the ball and getting some good looks at the basket.

“Wadsworth’s trademark sideline break got behind us a couple of times for layups, but the real difference maker was their shooting ability.”

The Grizzlies knocked down nine three-pointers and 6-foot-2 Robyn Rotterschmidt hurt the Lady Blue Devils in the paint. She finished with a game-high 25 points.

Leading the way offensively for Tallmadge was senior guard Fernanda Frajia, who scored 16 points. In addition, senior guard Karley DeLorenzo tallied nine points and senior guard Taylor Allen added eight markers.

The Lady Blue Devils did not get off to a good start against Copley. The Indians surged to a 16-7 lead by the close of the first period.

Tallmadge did gain some ground in the second quarter, outscoring Copley 10-7. As a result, the Indians held a 23-17 advantage at intermission.

However, the third period was not kind to the Lady Blue Devils. They only scored three points in the frame, falling behind by the score of 34-20.

Copley then edged Tallmadge 12-11 in the fourth quarter to post the win.

Amanda Kowaleski was back in action for the Lady Blue Devils after being out with a concussion, but Frajia went down with an ankle injury in the first period.

“Fernanda has been our starting point guard all year and she takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the team in terms of handling defensive pressure,” said Manion. “She did not return to the game and the rest of the team had to assume those responsibilities throughout the contest.”

According to Manion, Copley’s Taylor Reif caused problems for his team defensively.

“We knew coming in that Copley was very difficult to play man to man against, so we started in a zone to force them into outside shots,” he said. “We allowed Taylor Reif to get free a couple of times for baskets close to the hoop, but I felt we forced them into exactly the kind of play we had hoped. The problem was we did not execute on the other end as well as we would have liked.

“We did not make a field goal in the third quarter and once they opened the game up with two big baskets by Hannah Seeman, we had to move into a man-to-man defense.

“My kids played hard down the stretch and did cut the lead to six at one point, but Taylor Reif was just too much for one player to guard. She uses her body extremely well to gain an advantage and got the ball inside for some easy baskets.”

Reif scored 22 points, including 10 of Copley’s 12 points in the fourth quarter.

Four players tallied six points for Tallmadge — Allen, DeLorenzo, junior forward Brittany Lightel and senior forward Abby Prulhiere.

The Lady Blue Devils are scheduled to entertain Streetsboro Feb. 8 and Suburban League rival Revere Feb. 10. Both contests are set to begin at 7:30 p.m.

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