by Dean Raymond

Correspondent

Cuyahoga Falls -- It took awhile but host Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy started to put things together and defeated Cuyahoga Falls 59-37 Feb. 1 in a battle of backyard rivals.

The Lady Black Tigers (6-10) took an early 6-0 lead as senior guard/forward Ivy Meloy laid the ball in with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter.

Trailing 9-2, the Lady Royals (12-5) went on a 10-0 run and led 12-9 when sophomore forward Cassandra Wilson canned a pair of free throws in a 1-and-1 situation with 6:39 to go in the second period.

However, Falls came right back and led by three points at 15-12, 17-14 and 19-16 before CVCA went on a 13-0 run and took the lead for good at 29-19 as junior forward Katie Defer connected on 1-of-2 charity tosses with 33 seconds left in the second quarter.

Junior guard Eleni Miller knocked down three triples in the second period for the Lady Royals as they erased a 9-7 deficit after one quarter.

CVCA led 29-21 at the half as Meloy hit a short jumper in the lane just before the second quarter buzzer for the Lady Black Tigers.

A layup from Defer and an inside basket by senior forward Breanna Hopkins put the Lady Royals ahead 33-21 with 5:28 remaining in the third period before a three-point goal from junior forward Patricia Sagerer started Falls on a 10-4 run as the visitors trailed just 37-31 as Sagerer sank a 15-foot jumper with 7:49 to go in the fourth quarter.

Each team scored eight points apiece in the third period as CVCA led 37-29 heading into the fourth period.

The Lady Black Tigers still had a chance for a come-from-behind win as sophomore forward/center Logen Breehl laid the ball in with 6:41 left in the fourth quarter to pull Falls within eight at 41-33 but the Lady Royals put the game away with a 12-0 run midway through the fourth period as a rebound basket from Deger gave CVCA a 55-35 advantage with just 1:46 remaining in the contest.

"We adjusted to what Falls did in the first half," Lady Royal head coach Bill Stalnaker said. "Our quickness wore them down. We realized we were here to play basketball. We did some half-court trapping and played some zone defense. We limited their outside game."

Lady Black Tiger head coach Dennis Wright agreed the game got away from his team after a quick start.

"We played at their pace after the first quarter and we shouldn't have done that," Wright said. "It was a very physical game. My girls continued to play hard. The score doesn't indicate how close the game really was."

CVCA was 18-of-49 from the field for 37 percent, including 12-of-22 in the second half and swished home 20-of-24 free throws for an impressive 83 percent, including 9-of-10 in the second period.

Falls finished 11-of-45 from the floor for 24 percent and 14-of-22 at the line for 64 percent, including 9-of-11 in the first half.

Sagerer paced the Lady Black Tigers with 15 points, including nine in the second half while Defer led the Lady Royals with 18 points. Eleni Miller (13 points with nine coming in the second period) and senior guard Turea Moore (11 points with five coming in the fourth quarter) also scored in double-figures for CVCA.

Hopkins and Moore were honored before the game on Senior Night.

Prior to the win over Falls, CVCA scored a pair of win, begining with a 53-43 home win over leauge rival Tuslaw. Miller score 24 ppoints in the win.

CVCA also defeate Akron Ellet 66-17 at home Jan. 30 . Defer led the Royals with 14 points and six rebounds.

E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113