Olmsted Falls has proven to be the team to beat as the four-time Southwestern Conference champ.
Even against a talented Midview squad on the road, the Bulldogs still handled their business with a 61-46 win over the Middies.
Olmsted Falls’ Paige Kohler and Mia Kalich have the notoriety as All-Ohioans, but few know about junior Danielle Cameron.
Cameron scored 22 points on the night with three 3-pointers.
PHOTOS: Olmsted Falls vs. Midview girls basketball, Dec. 7, 2022
"A lot of the points I scored were on assists and back-door cuts," Cameron said. "Everyone was finding me open and I was able to just make a layup. It was all about the team. We all find each other when we are open and that is the most important thing in our offense."
Kohler (eight assists) and Kalich (four) spread the ball around well to find players such as Cameron open beyond the arc and in the lane for baskets.
"The whole team is very unselfish and that (attribute) is very hard to be. I am very proud of (Kohler) for that," Eaton said.
Kohler, who scored 17 points, sees an increased in confidence from Cameron, which speaks volumes on her improvement from her sophomore season the year prior.
"I was just excited for (Cameron). She deserves this (performance). She works really hard at what she does and she deserved this moment in this big game," she said. "We were confident in her, she was confident in herself. We got her the ball and she was able to knock down those big shots."
Danielle Cameron has 22 PTS for Olmsted Falls Bulldogs lead 55-40 in Q4 @MJournalSports @OFalls_Bulldogs @MiddieUpdates pic.twitter.com/KvV6yzXBHH
— Mark Perez-Krywany 🤓 (@MarkPerezK10) December 8, 2022
The game was tight coming out of the gates. Both teams scored at a high rate. Midview even led 10-9 in the first quarter. Olmsted Falls flipped the script to go on a 21-4 run to close out the first half. They led 30-14 at halftime.
Kalich makes a layup as time expires
Olmsted Falls leads 30-14 at halftime
The Bulldogs went on a 28-4 run from late first quarter to halftime. @MJournalSports @OFalls_Bulldogs @MiddieUpdates pic.twitter.com/FSw80YHiTa
— Mark Perez-Krywany 🤓 (@MarkPerezK10) December 8, 2022
"(Midview) has good players that can't be defended well one-on-one. They caused a lot of problems with that," Olmsted Falls coach Jordan Eaton said. "After the first couple of possessions, we really locked in and decided that we were going to defend together."
Midview- Olmsted Fall starting off with a bang!
High scoring on Q1. @MJournalSports @OFalls_Bulldogs @MiddieUpdates pic.twitter.com/XmIrYZrDaE
— Mark Perez-Krywany 🤓 (@MarkPerezK10) December 8, 2022
Putting Midview's center Mary Meng in foul trouble also played to the Bulldogs' advantage. She scored three points in the second and third quarter as Olmsted Falls led, 47-29, at the end of the third quarter.
"(Foul trouble) is what every team tries to do their the other team's best player," Midview coach Brittney McNamara said. "(Olmsted Falls) even tried to face-guard (Olivia DiFranco), As soon as (Meng) picked up her first foul, they tried to pick up her second and third right away."
Olmsted Falls took first place in the SWC with a 2-0 conference record (5-0 overall). Midview dropped its first game of the season as they fell to 4-1 (2-1 in SWC).
Midview felt the loss of freshman guard Leah DiFranco, who did not play due to injury, which gave the one less ball handler on the floor.
"We miss Leah (DiFranco) big," McNamara said. "Having that extra defender, extra ball handler and extra scorer is huge for us. Hopefully she is back in the next few weeks. When you go up against great and big teams like (Olmsted Falls), you have to have those player to be able to play in a game like this. It is going to be a huge difference when she comes back for us."
Meng scored 15 points with 13 rebounds and two blocks. Olivia DiFranco led Midview with 19 points.
The Middies will rematch Olmsted Falls on Jan. 21, McNamara plans to make sure her team will be ready by then.
"A lot of the little things that weren't able to do tonight, they are fixable. Everything is fixable that I saw and felt during the game. We are going to have to watch a lot of film," she said.
Midview will look to bounce back in its next game. They will play Lansing Catholic on Dec. 10. Olmsted Falls will travel to play at Akron Hoban on Dec. 10.
![It is pretty cool when players on a team spend an entire week talking about their game plan for a playoff series and then watch them play exactly as they said they would. The Cavaliers have broken the will of the Orlando Magic. They won Game 1 of the best-of-seven series, 97-83, on April 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and then made the Magic disappear again, 96-86, April 22 in Game 2 at the FieldHouse. “It starts with our defense,” Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after Game 2. “I thought we did a great job of forcing them to the shots […]](https://www.morningjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TNH-L-Cavaliers2-0422-04-1.jpg?w=454 "It is pretty cool when players on a team spend an entire week talking about their game plan for a playoff series and then watch them play exactly as they said they would. The Cavaliers have broken the will of the Orlando Magic. They won Game 1 of the best-of-seven series, 97-83, on April 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and then made the Magic disappear again, 96-86, April 22 in Game 2 at the FieldHouse. “It starts with our defense,” Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after Game 2. “I thought we did a great job of forcing them to the shots […]")
![By TOM WITHERS Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, Jarrett Allen had 20 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the Orlando Magic 96-86 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference series. Mitchell set the tone as the Cavs led from start to finish, just as they did in Game 1. It’s been an impressive opening to the playoffs for Cleveland, which spent the regular season waiting for a chance to redeem itself following last year’s first-round exit against the New York Knicks, who punished the Cavs in five games. Cleveland has been much tougher this […]](https://www.morningjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TNH-L-BKN-Cavaliers-0422-18-1.jpg?w=223 "By TOM WITHERS Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, Jarrett Allen had 20 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the Orlando Magic 96-86 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference series. Mitchell set the tone as the Cavs led from start to finish, just as they did in Game 1. It’s been an impressive opening to the playoffs for Cleveland, which spent the regular season waiting for a chance to redeem itself following last year’s first-round exit against the New York Knicks, who punished the Cavs in five games. Cleveland has been much tougher this […]")
