The Bison girls basketball team has won two straight games after a tough start to the season.
Close losses to Akron North (46-42) in the season opener and a brutal game against Bedford (36-34) two days later were followed by a drubbing from Cuyahoga Heights (46-14); however, wins were right around the corner.
“Coming off of three losses we made sure to keep our spirits high and just keep doing what we knew we could do,” junior co-captain Goldi Aschkenasy said. “We are a talented team, and although things might not have gone our way, we pushed through it and played the game.”
The first win of the season came at home against Fairview on Dec. 8, when they defeated the Warriors 46-40. This big win was made possible by the great offensive contributions of junior co-captain Lexi Jaffe, who led with 18 points.
“We had the anger from the few losses, so we kept that and played our game and kept putting pressure on the other team,” Jaffe said.
Jaffe’s outside shooting has played a major role in these few wins in the early part of the season. She leads the team in both three point percentage and free throw percentage, and her ability to shoot from anywhere on the court makes it very hard to defend against this Beachwood offense.
In addition to Jaffe’s performance, Aschkenasy scored 13 points, and through the first five games of the season she leads the team with an impressive 15.6 points per game. Not only does she play a huge role on the offensive side of the ball, but she also leads the team with 11.6 rebounds and 4.4 blocks per game.
Aschkenasy’s ability to play down low for the Bison and do a lot of the dirty work racking up the boards and blocks has been instrumental in the team’s recent success. The combination between Aschkenasy down low with Jaffe on the perimeter is not easy for opposing defenses to answer.
Aschkenasy’s success over the start to the season has definitely contributed to these few wins, but it’s also her leadership that has helped motivate her teammates.
”As a leader I try to push my team mentally and physically,” Aschkenasy said. “Staying positive and pushing my team especially when things aren’t going our way is a big part of it. I try my best to make my team as successful as we can be while also making sure everyone learns.”
In addition to these two juniors, freshman Marley Readance stepped up to fill many roles for the Bison.
In addition to scoring 7 points and being one of the key offensive threats for this Bison she also leads the team in both assists and steals.
While going from middle school basketball straight to the varsity level can be challenging, Readance credits her teammates for helping her get to this level so quickly.
“The transition from playing in middle school level to playing varsity right away has been a challenge, but the seniors are very supportive, and even though it’s overwhelming at times they’ve made it a lot easier for me since I do lack experience,” she said.
Just a few days after this conference win, the Bison won their second game in a row on Dec. 12 against the Brooklyn Hurricanes.
The Bison were able to steadily control the game and come out with a score of 42-29. Once again it was Aschkenasy, with 18 points, who pushed the Bison to victory. Senior Veronica Schwartz also contributed on offense with 10 points.
With these two straight wins, the Bison now hold a 2-1 record in the CVC, but these players know there’s a lot more that can be accomplished.
“Coming off of back-to-back wins is great, and we are going to just try and keep the momentum up,” Aschkenasy said. “Although we won, we still had some areas we can improve on and have been during practice leading up to future games.”
Readance is also focused on growth.
“Now that we know what we are capable of, we need to work on consistency in practice to have more success in games,” Readance said.
This combination of Schwartz, Aschkenasy, Jaffe and Readance presents a good balance of core players for the Bison. This group promises a strong season and a bright future under head coach Don Readance.
The Bison face Independence (1-4) on the road tonight at 6:00.
