Girls basketball: Area teams taking the court in district finals Saturday

Five teams. One dream. Led by defending Division III state finalist Avon Lake, five Lorain County teams will take the court Saturday trying to fulfill the dream of winning a district title and moving on to the regional round of the Ohio High School Athletic Association tournament. The Southwestern Conference will be well represented in that group as Avon, Avon Lake and North Ridgeville will all be competing in a final. Coming off Tuesday's win over Solon, the No. 10 seed Rangers will travel to Berea-Midpark to face No. 9 seed North Canton Hoover in a Division II final. "We're focused on what we need to do and getting our mindset ready," North Ridgeville coach Amy Esser said. Because the Rangers played their district semifinal Tuesday they will come in with an extra day of rest. Hoover defeated Cleveland Heights on Wednesday in its semifinal."It's kinda nice to have that extra day to prepare and to rest," Esser said. "Every single day we get better at driving our culture and coming together as a family."No. 19 Avon came into the Division II district semifinals with an 8-14 record and trailed in their semifinal matchup with Lakewood by 14 points after a quarter but something clicked for the Eagles. They went on to defeat the Rangers, 51-33, and will face No. 8 Massillon in a district final at Medina. "I told the team we've earned the right to keep playing," Avon coach Adam Castrilla said after Wednesday's win. "We know we have our work cut out for us. We're excited to get back to work. It's going to be a quick turnaround. We went from having 12 days to prepare for this opponent to only two to get ready for the district final."Avon is playing in the finals for the second year in a row. The Eagles lost to Hudson in 2025. Last year, Avon Lake's magical run to Dayton and the Division III state final included a win over Westlake in the district final. The year, the No. 8 seed Shoregals will travel to Elyria for a tough matchup against No. 3 Canfield. "There's a confidence that our girls have in big moments," Avon Lake coach Paul Appel said. "We're used to playing in standalone varsity games and big events, so its give our girls some familiarity with these moments."Like North Ridgeville, Avon Lake also had an extra day to prepare for its opponent. "We were able to get out and scout Canfield Wednesday night," Appel said. "We want to make sure we're prepared for the moment. We want out girls to be able to play with confidence and understand that although Canfield is a good team we have a lot of belief in ourselves."Keystone is back in the district finals for the first time since it made a state tournament run in 2024. Although the Wildcats are one of the youngest teams in the area, with no active seniors, and four freshman and four sophomores on the roster, they showed veteran poise in their overtime district semifinal win over No. 16 Orrville. Keystone will face another Wayne County foe when it takes the court against No. 11 Wooster Triway in a Division V district final at Wellington. "I've been down this road," Keystone coach Rocky Houston said. "But I'll talk to the girls and try to keep them calm. This is a new experience for almost all of them. We're going to step on the floor Saturday and do what we can do and hopefully it's enough to give us an opportunity to play in a regional next week."It's going to be fun to watch these young girls play. I think in the last six minutes (against Orrville) they turned a corner and I think they're where they should be right now."After a pair of easy wins over Akron Springfield and Niles McKinley, No. 5 seed Elyria Catholic is back in the Division V district finals. Last year, the Panthers lost to eventual state semifinalist Laurel and have the chance to get back to regionals for the first time since 2020, when they take on No. 3 Canal Fulton Northwest at North Ridgeville. On paper, both teams appear evenly-matched. Elyria Catholic coach Eric Rothgery is hoping the Panthers can take advantage of playing close to home. Elyria Catholic and the North Ridgeville Academic Center are just five miles apart, while Northwest will have a 52-mile bus ride. "I'm hoping we'll have a few more fans. I know Northwest has a good following but hopefully we can put a good-sized crowd in there to make it feel like a home game for us ," Rothgery said. "Playing at North Ridgeville is no mystery to us. We've been there a number of times. We had a bunch of open gyms there with (Esser) and her team. So the girls all have plenty of experience playing there." The Panthers have held eight of their last nine opponents to 42 or fewer points and appear to playing their best basketball at the right time. "If (Tuesday) was any indication, I feel pretty good about where we are right now," Rothgery said. "We shot the ball well, moved the ball well, rebounded well. If you put that together this time of year, you give yourself a chance."Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.