By Bill Bray
FREMONT – Going back to the beginning of TRAC play in 2011 The Lady Giants could only dream of beating the powerful Notre Dame Arrows two times in one season. The dream is now reality.
A movie script couldn’t explain the night any clearer. On a night that was all about senior Janiah Holmes, the post player led her team in scoring with 15 points as Ross was a 52-36 winner at the “Purple Pit”.
After a scorching first half that saw Fremont take a 29-15 lead into the locker room, quickly was closed during third quarter action. Notre Dame, well is Notre Dame. The Arrows came out to start the second half of play and closed the deficit to 36-28 thanks in large part to Notre Dame’s Dekota Smith. The talented forward, coming into the game averaging 13.6 points per contest, scored 12 of her team high 17 points in the third period to keep the Arrows within reach.
But Ross was a team that bent but did not break. The Lady Giants’ defense won this one as they limited Notre Dame to 12 two-point makes and no points from beyond the three-point line.
“I was very pleased with our defensive performance,” a happy Juan Vela said after his seventh TRAC win in eight tries. “We knew Notre Dame (5-7, 3-4) was a come from behind team. They played Central Catholic much the same way and nearly came back to beat them.”
The night belonged to Holmes. The talented senior who came into the contest averaging 11.8 points and eight rebounds per game, scored six of her 15 points in the second half and in the fourth quarter was four-of-four from the foul line.
The defensive effort was led by junior Carma Johnson. “I’m very happy Carma is on our team,” Vela said. “She brings it every game with her aggressive style of play.” To add to Johnson’s defensive effort was the fact that she contributed with 13 points in the win. Her three-pointer in the second quarter along with her five of seven makes from the charity strip were all big.
Other scorers for Ross included sophomore Lyndi Wolf in double figures once again with 10 points. Wolf sank a three-pointer to start the night that got a roar from the fans. Destiny Robinson, still shaking of an illness, was held to seven points but her court leadership was back to normal. Abby Cahill added four points all in the first half and sub-Maylin DeWalt added an important three-point hoop in the third period.
The Ladies are back in action in a Sunday afternoon contest as they take part in a Martin Luther King tournament at Rossford High School.
