Elyria put together a strong first quarter and needed every bit of that cushion to stave off visiting Oberlin, 64-47, Jan. 19 in a win that showed some resilience from the young Pioneers.
Victoria Jackson hit a 3-pointer in the opening seconds to give Oberlin (3-12) a quick lead, but Angelina Aulisio answered with a 3 of her own and scored Elyria's (4-11) first five points to pull ahead early and give her team a lead it'd never relinquish.
The Pioneers dominated the first quarter and took a commanding 24-5 lead before Oberlin started to show some life. The Phoenix went on a 9-0 run to start the second half and got within 5 midway through the third quarter, but it wasn't enough to overcome the damage done early on.
Elyria's defense held Oberlin to seven fourth-quarter points.
“We’ve been coming out very electric in our first halves…holding teams, forcing them into a ton of turnovers," Elyria coach Tony Brown said. "Our practices are tough, but we’re not always tough at practice, and it showed when (Oberlin) made a run how tired we were. Luckily, they just were resilient. We’ll never quit, but our energy level spikes at times and it showed."
Cora Sanders scored 18 points and was one of three Pioneers to reach double-figures including Angelina Ausilio with 14 points and Jaidah Gonzalez with 13.
The offense has been a work in progress for the underclassmen-heavy Pioneers which have a lone senior â€" Aulisio â€" one junior, four sophomores and five freshmen, and the win over Oberlin was just the second time this season they've scored 60-plus points. The other was a 65-37 win over Brunswick Jan. 9.
“We’re always gonna work hard," Sanders, a sophomore, said. "Our defense is great and our offense is coming together.
“The first quarter we had to be on their necks and get a good lead so we could just keep being patient, working and get the dub."
Karissa Rankin had a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds for Oberlin and Victoria Jackson had 12 points and three assists.
Despite making a late push, the Phoenix couldn't help themselves at the free throw line, going 6 of 18 which left crucial points off the board.
“If we would’ve put some of those in it could’ve been a different ballgame at the end," Oberlin coach Tiffany Dotson said.
“I think overall they did a great job in the second and third quarters. In the fourth, we kind of lost it there at the end. We just didn’t give it enough gas, just didn’t stay on them, so I think that was the reason (Elyria) was able to maintain the lead."
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