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The Springfield Spartans boys basketball team ended its long losing streak with a 54-53 win over the Crestwood Red Devils last Friday.
With the winter break at the end of December, basketball and wrestling teams have to decide how they are going to tackle the interruption in their normal rountine.
Some teams try to keep to as normal a schedule as possible, considering there’s two to four mandatory extra days off in this period, while others take time to rest and potentially heal some bumps and bruises for the final stretch run of the regular season and then the tournament. Still there are others, like the Coventry Comets, who take the time and kick it into overdrive trying to get in as best of a rhythm as they can before the new year.
The Comets challenged Ravenna in their final Portage Trail Conference Metro Division game of 2011 last Wednesday. Coventry then turned around and played Cloverleaf and Ellet the next two nights as part of the Barberton Lady Magics Holiday Classic.
While the struggling Comets (1-8) didn’t pick up a victory in any of the three games, the improvement in their performance from Wednesday and Thursday night to Friday night was apparent. On the first two nights, Coventry was outscored by a combined 72 points. That deficit was trimmed to just nine on the final night.
“There was no question that we were much more active (Friday night), than we were the previous nights. We started executing somethings,” Coventry coach Bob McNamara said after a 39-30 loss to Ellet. “We got (close) because the girls really started working today.”
McNamara said he hopes Friday’s effort can carry over to the New Year as the Comets come out with four league games in the first 2 1/2 weeks of January.
“The challenge is getting that effort to carry over now with a week and a half before our next game,” McNamara said. “And while we’ll still be practicing hard, practice isn’t the same as a game.”
Coventry opens January with back-to-back road games against Springfield and Field next Wednesday (Jan. 4) and Saturday (Jan. 7) to round out their first rotation through the Metro Division.
More Girls Basketball: Top Contenders take to tourneys
After what was a relatively quiet week before Christmas for PTC Metro Division girls basketball, Streetsboro dropped a 46-25 decision to Chagrin Falls as the only team in non-league action besides Coventry. The final week of 2011 will have a lot of interesting matchups.
At the top of the schedule are Ravenna and Norton – possibly the league’s top two teams – taking on holiday tournaments/showcases.
The Ravens will travel to Twinsburg on Wednesday for the Fight or Flight Invitational. Twinsburg won the Division I state tournament last year, and this is the first year for this showcase. Ravenna, coming off a Division II AP State Poll Championship, will take on Sylvania Southview.
The Cougars were sectional champions out of the Division I Perrysburg district last winter.
The Panthers will head south to Cincinnati’s Braggin’ Rights Classic, where Norton will challenge Meadowdale and Butlersville on Wednesday and Thursday.
Meadowdale is led by the trio of Sharae Grandberry (13 ppg), Ja’la Henderson (12.6 ppg) and Darnesha Wesley (11.9 ppg). Grandberry, a senior, also averages 11 rebounds per game and Henderson hands out 3.1 assists in each contest.
Some other interesting girls hoops matchups include cross-division PTC games with Crestwood travelling to Waterloo on Wednesday and Ravenna hosting Rootstown on Thursday.
In non-league action, Springfield will take on backyard rival Ellet on Wednesday, with Kent Roosevelt, Streetsboro and Field all hitting the road for games against Nordonia, Chardon and Lake, respectively.
Boys Basketball: Spartans end skid
Friday night was filled with big news for PTC Metro Division boys basketball teams. First, there was Norton and Kent Roosevelt both earning divisional wins to stay perfect in the Metro Division, and Streetsboro staying just one game back with their win.
But there also was the game the Springfield Spartans put together in a 54-53 win over defending Metro Division co-champion Crestwood. It was the first time in over a year the boys basketball team had tasted victory.
Springfield got 17 points from Jake Kitchen and seven boards from Shane Robinson as the Spartans took a 45-41 into the final period and hang on for the victory.
The fact that Springfield won was a big enough deal, but to beat a team that tied the Rough Riders for the league championship a year ago made it that much more special.
Wrestling: Champs highlight week
PTC Metro Division wrestling action isn’t the deepest this holiday season as most teams took the week before Christmas off. The week before New Year’s won’t be that busy either with three teams heading off to invitationals before the ball drops on 2011.
At the top of that list however is the reigning champion Crestwood Red Devils who will head to the Kenston Invitational on Wednesday and Thursday. Crestwood is coming off a third-place finish at the Hudson Holiday tournament a week and a half ago. The Red Devils had two champions and two runners-up in Hudson.
Also competing at Kenston will be the Ravenna Ravens, who will be hoping for a good showing to jumpstart them into the second half of the season.
Finally, Kent Roosevelt will be travelling to Canton on Wednesday for the Timken Invitational.