By Kalen Lumpkins
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
TOLEDO — Central Catholic put the ’fight’ in Fighting Irish on Thursday, as they won 63-23 to emphatically end the season of the twelfth-seeded Lake Flyers.
For Lake, they will finish their season at 9-14, and 7-7 in conference play. The Flyers failed to crack the 40-point mark in their last five games, but they did come alive with some key wins after an injured Sydney Stanley returned to the lineup the second half of the season.
That included a 42-27 win over Eastwood, beating Fostoria twice this season (47-38, 62-41) and a 36-30 overtime win at Bowling Green.
“The message I conveyed to them non-basketball-wise was that I appreciated their effort all year,” said Lake coach Joe Nowak. “And then for the seniors, I feel for them. Not everyone reacts the same way, not everyone understands until they’re there,”
The tournament energy was present early in the game, as the defenses stood strong to start. In just the first two minutes, the two offenses turned the ball over three times.
As the Lake defense faded away, however, the Central Catholic defense kept the pressure on.
The Fighting Irish stole the ball three times and had seven total forced turnovers at the end of one.
The home team would get on the board first with a Corniya Clay layup. She finished with 19 points, including seven in the first.
The Irish dominated the boards in the first quarter as well, racking up rebounds in the period. Brooklyn Vaughn had six rebounds on the night.
Despite a Kyleigh Christ layup at the buzzer for Lake, the Fighting Irish doubled the Flyers point total, as the score would be 18-9 after the first period.
The second quarter saw the defense of the home team not missing a beat, as they would force a turnover under ten seconds in the period. The pressure seems to fluster the Lake offense, as they would airball three straight shots after this turnover.
Savannah Little attempted to bring energy to the #12 seed, as she would score back-to-back buckets for Lake to bring the score to 18-11. Unfortunately for Lake, these would be two of the only five points the Flyers would see in the second quarter.
The sixth-seeded Fighting Irish would return the favor, and then some, as they responded with a 10-0 run. The Corniya Clay three-point parade continued, putting her at 13 points at the half.
Despite being down 31-14 at halftime, a three-pointer from Brooke Wiley at the buzzer hoped to bring some momentum going into the locker room. Instead, Lake started the third with two turnovers in 45 seconds.
Central Catholic went on a quick 12-0 run to open the third period, forcing a timeout from coach Joe Nowak. The run was fueled by two beautiful assists from Corniya Clay.
Lake finally stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer from Brooke Wiley to bring the score to 43-17 halfway through the third. Central, though, would immediately answer with a three-pointer of their own.
The Fighting Irish refused to let up, as a strong rebound and layup from Brooklyn Vaughn brought the white jerseys to a 55-19 lead at the end of three.
The fourth quarter played out similarly to the first three, with the home team taking advantage of a flustered Lake offense. A Brooke Wiley layup would be the last field goal of the season for Lake.
For Central Catholic, they will travel to face third-seeded Shelby on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.
