EATON TWP. — If Midview could have just figured out the first and third quarters it might have had a chance in its girls basketball season opener Saturday night under new coach Mike Pearl.
Instead, Elyria Catholic, also under a new coach in Eric Rothgery, dominated those two periods and went on to post a 65-52 non-conference victory at Ed Kubuski Gym.
The Middies outscored the Panthers 40-25 in the second and fourth quarters but were wiped out 40-12 in the first and third.
Elyria Catholic’s Sara Schneider put in a rebound basket and Emily Taylor followed quickly with a fastbreak layup and free throw to get the Panthers off and running to a 5-0 lead. After Midview closed to 7-4, Elyria Catholic went on a streak, scoring the next 17 points for a 24-4 lead with 25 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Following the Middies’ second quarter rally, Elyria Catholic repeated its first-quarter domination in the third, holding Midview to just two field goals to take a comfortable 50-27 lead into the final period. When the Middies again found their offense, outscoring the Panthers 25-15 in the last quarter, it was too late.
The closest they could get was 63-52 with 1:03 remaining.
The key to the relatively close final margin was foul shooting. Elyria Catholic was called for a whopping 24 fouls, putting Midview at the line 34 times.   
On the positive side for the Middies, they outrebounded Elyria Catholic 52-45 as 5-foot-11 Jacki Street pulled down 18 to go along with her team-high 20 points, 10 of which came at the free throw line.
Neither team shot well from the field, not unexpected in a season opener. The Panthers hit 38 percent, with no 3-pointers, while the Middies hit 28 percent.
“Overall it was a good start for the season,” Rothgery said. “The girls played with intensity and confidence.”
He was even upbeat about the second-quarter letdown.
“I’ll take a 14-point lead at halftime anytime,” he said.
On the downside, he wasn’t pleased with the fouls.
“We had too many dumb fouls,” he said. “We put them at the line way too much.”  
Part of Midview’s defensive success in the second quarter was a switch to a zone defense.
“We’ve got to work more on playing against the zone,” Rothgery said.
“We’re just not ready to play coming out of the locker room,” Pearl said of the first- and third-quarter problems for his Middies. “It’s a frame of mind. Confidence leads to confidence and our girls just don’t have that confidence they need at the start. We’ve got to shake that. When you fall that far behind early on, like we did, you’re going to pay for it.”
Taylor led the Panthers in scoring with 22 points while Ashley Schuster (12) and Schneider (10) were also in double figures. Schneider led in rebounds with 10 while Katie Shoemaker had nine.
Contact Jerry Rombach at 329-7137 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

Elyria Catholic 65, Midview 52

ELYRIA CATHOLIC (65): Emily Taylor 8-6-22, Ashley Schuster 5-2-12, Sara Schneider 5-0-10, Rachel Wilden 3-1-7, Mimi Rothgery 3-0-6, Katherine McNeeley 1-1-3, Katie Shoemaker 1-1-3, Myrasia Flowes  1-0-2, Tory Rothgery 0-0-0, Juliana Tremont  0, Andrea Eichenlaub 0-0-0. Totals 27-11-65.
MIDVIEW (52): Jacki Street 5-10-20, Danielle Szpak 2-5-9, Hannah Duran 2-2-6, Anne Harder 2-2-6, Gina Laufman 1-2-5, Kylie Phillips 2-0-4, Grace Demyan 0-2-2, Grace Turner 0-0-0, Danielle Herwig 0-0-0, Sarah Linn 0-0-0, Saddie Williams 0-0-0. Totals 14-23-52.

Elyria Catholic    24    10    16    15    — 65
Midview    5    15      7     25    — 52
Three point goals: Elyria Catholic 0-5, Midview 1-9 (Laufman). Field goals: Elyria Catholic 27-70 (38 percent), Midview 14-of-49 (28 percent). Free throws: Elyria Catholic 11-22, Midview 23-34. Turnovers: Elyria Catholic 15, Midview 26. Rebounds: Elyria Catholic 45 (Schneider 10, Shoemaker 9), Midview 52 (Street 18). Fouls: Elyria Catholic 24, Midview 18 (fouled out, Duran).
JV: Elyria Catholic 43, Midview 27.

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