Cleveland Heights High Juniors Lead Tigers to Victory 57-47 on Senior Night

It was Senior Night indeed.

All the roses were a rich red hue, cameras flashed on cue and five girls’ basketball seniors took the floor with bittersweet smiles, knowing this was their final game on the court they called home for the last four years.

Still, while the day was theirs to celebrate and remember, the game itself belonged to juniors Jasmine Harper and Supriya Frierson, the Tigers’ pair of dominant post players.

Harper and Frierson deferred their usual starting roles in honor of the day, but scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, to give the Tigers a 57-47 victory over Lake Erie League rival Mentor on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers improved to 9-10 and 4-4 in the LEL, while the Cardinals fell to 7-12 and 2-6 in the LEL.

Harper and Frierson are the proverbial contrast in styles. Harper, listed at 6 feet tall, is the smoother of the two with range out to the 3-point line, while Frierson, at 5-10, uses her power to dominate inside and play rough-and-tumble defense. Both are fierce rebounders and shot-blockers, and Frierson makes no bones about her strengths as a player.

“I’d say my style is pretty aggressive and competitive when it comes to rebounds, especially when it gets up high,” said Frierson, who recovered quickly from falling and hitting her head on the court in the third quarter while going for a rebound. “I need to get it.”

Both coaches cited them as the difference between the teams.

“Supriya and Jasmine together are a hard duo to stop,” Cleveland Heights coach Kim Hansen said. “I think once we can get their game going, then the guards can show what they do better because the defense has to respect that in some way.”

Mentor coach Steve Thompson encouraged his crew to hang in there against Harper and Frierson, but he knew it was likely a losing battle.

“At the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter, their post-players took over the game. That was the bottom line,” Thompson said. “We attacked the basket, and their post players stepped in with some big stops inside. And who can touch (Heights senior guard Ra’chel) Walton in the open court when they’re up 10. They’re the complete package.”

The Tigers took over the game after a tight first half that ended with the Cardinals leading, 26-25. Cleveland Heights picked up its defense in the second half, holding the Cardinals to nine points in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth.

Harper’s layup opened the second half and put the Tigers up a point, 27-26, and Cleveland Heights didn’t trail again. After another Harper layup and a free throw from Walton, Cardinals senior guard Christy Cunningham, who finished with 13 points, scored to bring the Cardinals within 30-28 which was the closest Mentor would come for the rest of the game.

The Tigers went on a 10-7 run to close the quarter but blew the game open with a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter for a 49-35 lead.

, opened the series with a jumper as Harper and Frierson took over. Harper put back senior Chelsea Hicks’ missed jumper and went 2-of-2 at the line. Frierson put back a Walton miss, went 1-of-2 at the stripe and forced a Mentor traveling violation on the perimeter.

A Cunningham jumper closed the gap, 51-45, with just under a minute remaining, but Harper’s bucket and Walton’s four free throws ended the rally.

Davis likes her team’s chances moving forward in playoff competition and issued a warning to the Tigers’ upcoming opponents.

“I’m very confident. We should just run through everybody,” Davis said. “I’m being honest. This is a beatable conference for us. ... If we play like this all the time, then I don’t think anybody can beat us.”

The Tigers have a tentative date set for Wednesday against Shaw in a makeup game. 

Cleveland Heights other seniors included Bre Laster and Daychelle Thomas.

Mentor                       47

Cleveland Heights   57

MHS      12   14   9     12    47

CHHS    16     9   15   17   57

Mentor:  Kali Deighan 15 points, Christy Cunningham 13, Courtney Schutz 6, Lauren Stefancin 6, Molly Owens 3, Staci Cortelezzi 2, Lauren Funk 2.

Cleveland Heights:  Jasmine Harper 15 points, Supriya Frierson 13, Ra’chel Walton 12, Larissa Davis 10, Chelsea Hicks 6, Bre Laster 1.