TOLEDO – The Lady Giants never let the Irish out of their sights Thursday night. But they also never climbed back out of an early hole, either.
Ross’ defense kept it close throughout the night at Toledo Central Catholic, but the Lady Giants’ offense couldn’t string together enough scoring to keep up, as Ross dropped its third game in a row, losing 50-46.
“They played hard, played together,” Ross coach Juan Vela said of his team. “Down the stretch there were times when the game could have gotten out of control, a couple times we were down six, but we made big plays to cut it down to one possession. We couldn’t really get over the hump to create that nice cushion for us.
“We shot the ball a little bit better but still not as good as we should to beat a team like that,” he added.
The Lady Giants fell behind in the first quarter, but kept Central Catholic from ever pulling away. The Irish took a 15-12 lead in the first quarter and pushed it up to six points at halftime, 26-20. Ross trimmed the deficit back down to three points entering the fourth quarter but never closed the gap.
“They play very consistent,” Vela said of Central Catholic. “Whenever we got close or hit a big shot, they would get a big foul, or we’d turn the ball over. We just could never make enough plays in a row to get it to that point.
“Throughout the game we were playing catch-up, but I don’t think they were ever up by more than six. We were in it until the last 24 seconds of the game. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Jazmin Bulger once again led the Lady Giants in scoring, netting 18 points. Olivia Baptista scored nine while Brooklyn Baptista added eight.
“What kept us in the game was our defense,” Vela said. “I thought our girls played one of their better games, defensively. We got them uncomfortable, they missed shots and we got the rebound and went the other way.”
The loss drops Ross’ record to 9-7 overall, 3-5 in the TRAC. The Lady Giants return home Monday night looking to get back on track as they host Findlay, a team they defeated earlier in the season, 49-36.
“I think every game is a chance for us to get back on track, whether we’re home or away,” Vela said. “But it will be nice to come back home with our home crowd and play a home game. I was telling them, no matter what happens in the first game, it’s a new game and we have to prove ourselves once again.”
Central Catholic 50, Fremont Ross 46
ROSS (46)
Bulger 7 2-4 18; O. Baptista 3 2-2 9; Gore 0 1-2 1; Simms 2 3-4 7; B. Baptista 2 2-5 8; Sabiers 1 0-0 2; Overmyer 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 11-19 46.
CENTRAL CATHOLIC (50)
Crawford 6 306 17; Finfera 1 0-2 3; Baker 2 0-2 4; Ellis 1 0-0 2; White 1 1-4 3; Denks 0 1-2 1; Moeller 2 0-0 4; Mendieta 1 0-0 2; Delp 5 4-5 14. Totals, 19 9-21 50.
3-pointers: Ross, 5 (Bulger 2, B. Baptista 2, O. Baptista 1). TCC, 3 (Crawford 2, Finfera 1).