There’s probably no such legal basketball term “Brittany Ball,” but if there was, it was on display Jan. 9 in Burton. Paced by a ferocious defensive effort that forced 15 turnovers, Chagrin Falls defeated host Berkshire, 37-32, in a game with major CVC Valley Division implications. It was just the defensive-minded game that Chagrin coach Brittany Laseak loves. “We’re back to our old-school ways,” Laseak said with a beaming smile. “I love defense and holding teams under 50 points. It’s one of our team goals.” Not only did Berkshire (10-4, 5-2 CVC Valley) never lead in the game, but every basket — every possession — had to be earned by the Badgers, with the Tigers pressuring the opposition all over the court. The win by Chagrin (8-6, 5-2) further tightened a crowded leaderboard in the league with Crestwood (5-9, 4-1 heading into the night) and Rootstown (9-3, 4-2 heading into the night) smack-dab in the league race, too. “It’s a four-way tie with us, Chagrin Falls, Crestwood and Rootstown,” Berkshire coach Dave Albert said afterward. “We still control our own destiny. We have to go win out. We have a lot of tough teams coming up in the CVC.” Chagrin set the tone from the start. The Tigers had a 9-1 lead before Berkshire made its first field goal on a Blythe Bors jumper. The Tigers’ defense was so tight that they only allowed three field goals in the first half, recording more than twice as many steals (seven) prior to intermission. When Avery Russell (game-high 18 points) hit a shot with less than a minute remaining in the half, Chagrin held a comfortable 18-9 lead. The Tigers’ offense wasn’t completely clicking, but the defense sure was. “Coming in, Berkshire had a high-octane offense averaging like 50 points per game,” Laseak said, “with multiple offensive threats. We had to ramp up our defense and shut down their individuals and limit their transition scoring. “We tried to control the pace, again limit transition offense and have them play the halfcourt game we wanted them to.” Berkshire didn’t make a lot of runs, but when it did, Chagrin did a nice job of limiting them and stemming them. When Julia Young hit a pair of free throws in the third to cut the Tigers’ lead to 22-13, Chagrin got a bucket Daisy Adelman. When Stella Bateman hit a Berkshire bucket, Olivia Kruse answered with a hoop and Russell buried a 3 from the corner. Berkshire was able to whittle the margin to six points in the fourth quarter via a Julia Young 3-pointer from the top of the key and a Bateman hoop off a feed from Ivy Martin. That made the score 31-25 with 4:38 left. But Russell hit a 3 to stem the tide. The score never got closer until the Badgers made a layup at the buzzer. “They put some pressure on us on the defensive side that caused us to panic a little bit and caused us not to get in our offensive sets,” Albert said. “In the second half, we did much better getting looks and pushing the ball a little bit.” Bateman led with eight, while Martin and Young had five each. Martin moved into third place on the all-time program assists list, quite an accomplishment for a junior. “She does a great job facilitating and getting open and creating opportunities for her teammates,” Albert said. Aside from Russell’s 18, Chagrin got six from Gabby Byrne and five from Olivia Kruse. “She just gets better and better,” Laseak said of Russell. Russell has developed into a go-to player with the graduation last spring of Lilly Stukus. “It’s super nice being a leader,” she said. “I like to bring the team together. We’re super tight and are like a family. It’s fun to play out there with them.” Russell said she and her teammates were “super hyped” all week anticipating the game with the Badgers. Having already beaten Berkshire by three earlier in the season and knowing the tight nature of the CVC race made the trip to Burton that much more important and enjoyable. Berkshire plays Wickliffe on Jan. 14, while faces Rootstown on Jan. 14. “We HAD to get this one,” Russell said. “And Rootstown, too.” THE SCORE Chagrin Falls 37, Berkshire 32 ...read more read less