Cleveland Heights Girls' Basketball Opens District Play With Victory

Sometimes you can just look at two teams warming up for a game and know it’s over. You didn’t need to know Riverside started only one senior or that they had a mere four wins on the season to deduce they were overmatched.

All you had to do was gauge Cleveland Heights’ size and strength advantage, making a fresh-faced and undersized Riverside team look like a comparative junior varsity squad before tipoff.

And to no one’s surprise, the Tigers girls’ basketball team handled the Beavers, 65-32, in the opening round of the Division I District Tournament on Saturday afternoon. Cleveland Heights moved to 10-11 on the season, while the Beavers’ season ended at 4-17.

The Tigers forced the Beavers into 27 turnovers and held them to a mere 10 points at halftime with five points in each of the first two quarters at Perry High School.

Jasmine Harper had 17 points and Ra’chel Walton had 15 to pace the Tigers. It could have easily been more for both, but Cleveland Heights mercifully pulled them out of the game and gave other players a chance to experience district competition.

Only Riverside junior guard Vanessa Delano’s gutsy efforts kept it from being a poorer decision with a team-high 15 points.

The Tigers’ greatest enemy Saturday afternoon was likely overconfidence against a four-win team. Coach Kim Hansen reminded her team of their earlier struggles against teams that appeared to be no contest, only to discover their confidence was misplaced.

“We learned that we must be ready for any and every team regardless of their record. We must play our game. And I think the kids knew that, and they took it to heart. And I absolutely loved our start in this game,” Hansen said.

Going forward, the Tigers must face Eastlake North (18-2) next Saturday, and they figure to be a much tougher opponent.  While Cleveland Heights certainly rolled Saturday, Hansen still has her concerns about the upcoming contest.

“I expect Eastlake North to be a big competition for us,” Hansen said. “They have a system that produces a lot of three-point shots. Fundamentally, they’re very sound. They play good pressure defense. They get after you. We’re going to have to be better in that game than we were tonight.”

But for one afternoon, nothing could seemingly go wrong for the Tigers. Well, almost nothing.

Right at the game’s start, Harper was unceremoniously dumped to the floor while fighting for a loose ball. Almost seemingly in disgust, Harper streaked up the floor to hammer away a Riverside layup attempt to let the Beavers know that such play was not appreciated.

Unfazed, Beaver sophomore guard Kortlyn Carr drilled a three-pointer for the game’s first score and the Beavers’ only lead. But Walton responded immediately with a three-pointer of her own to squash any upset rumors. In fact, Walton and Harper scored the Tigers’ first 17 points to put them up, 17-5, with a Delano bucket accounting for the Beavers’ other score.  

The Beavers didn’t arrive at their 10th point of the game until Amber Land sank a free throw with 17.5 seconds left in the first half.

The Beavers had a brief five-point rally to open the second half on Belicia Cooper three-pointer and a Delano score to bring it to 35-15, but Harper scored and got fouled in a mad scramble under the bucket and then finished off the three-point play to stem Riverside’s brief tide. A minor bump had been ironed out, and the Tigers rolled the rest of the way.

The Tigers return to Perry and face Eastlake North in the quarterfinals next Saturday with a noon tip.

Painesville Riverside  5  5  13 9     32

Cleveland Heights    20 15 15 15   65

Painesville Riverside: Vanessa Delano 15 points, Alexis Parsons 5, Kortlyn Carr 5, Megan Carabotta 3, Belicia Cooper 3, Amber Land 1.

Cleveland Heights: Jasmine Harper 17 points, Ra’chel Walton 15, Arion Jackson 8, Supriya Frierson 6, Daija Lee 6, Bre Laster 3, Christina Seals 3, Larissa Davis 3, Daychelle Thomas 2, Chelsea Hicks 2.