ELYRIA, Ohio – Rocky River’s special 2019-20 season came to
an end Saturday, with the Pirates being sunk by the Bay Rockets, 60-35, on
Saturday night.
That’s the what and when. As for the where, stay tuned.
Rocky River was outshot and outrebounded in allowing more
than 55 points for just a second time since Jan. 4. The Pirates were forced
into more turnovers than were their talented foes from Bay. Too many of those
turnovers were in the opening quarter, an eight-minute frame that witnessed the
tournament’s No. 1 outscore the Pirates, 24-9, hitting five 3-pointers along
the way.
Bay would extend its lead to 17 (36-19) by halftime. The
Rockets’ Haley Andrejcak logged 14 points and five boards in the first half.
Rocky River (19-6) found itself down by 20 (49-29) by the
end of the third and then 25 when the clock hit triple-zeroes in the fourth.
For the game, the Pirates were led Maria Potts (14 points,
six rebounds) and Kelsey Murphy (13 points, six rebounds, three blocks).
For the season, you could throw another three or four names
in that mix on any given night. And another three of four key contributors off
the bench.
Robinson and company won more games in 2019-20 than in the
two previous seasons combined. And that’s what brings us back to the where. Because
it’s a remarkable destination for a group whose season a year ago included a
six-game losing streak as part of going 3-12 over its final 15 games. The last
time the program won as many games in a single season was 2010-11 (20-3).
The 2019-20 season ended on a basketball floor holding a
district title game between two talented teams who deserved to be there. That’s
an impressive “where” for a season finale.
“This wasn’t the result we wanted,” said Head Coach Elaine
Robinson, “but the journey this family went on this season was fun, and we are
all so proud of our girls.”
The 2019-20 season ended with an object to mark the time: an
Ohio DII district runner-up trophy. The award will go into Rocky River’s trophy
case outside the gymnasium, guarded by a rock-solid Pirate in the hall.
Give it a few senior nights and maybe a few years after
that. And that trophy will be regarded as an heirloom by this family ...
… rock-solid Pirates all.
by Skip Snow
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