The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Titans find consistency in league after slump
After slump, Lake Erie League contender Lorain has won five in a row
For the Lorain girls basketball team, the first half of the season has been full of highs and lows.
The Titans started on a sixgame winning streak, before falling into a mini-slump that was a turning point for their season.
“We’re just trying to take it one game at a time,” head coach Mark Feldmann said. “We started 6-0 and then we had that horrible game against Avon Lake, who is really good. But we also played really bad.”
The Titans lost to Lake Erie
League foe Cleveland Heights in their next game, before dropping their third in a row to North Ridgeville.
The first game of that streak was rock bottom for a Lorain team that had been riding so high through their unbeaten start. The Titans committed 22 turnovers in what ended up becoming a 30-point loss, that showed just how far they had to come.
“They were down after that. It’s easy when you’re winning, when we had that mini three-game streak we had a little animosity,” Feldmann said. “But overall they’re pretty resilient, they keep their heads up, and they encourage each other and they get along pretty well.”
The resilience has shown, as Lorain has regrouped with five consecutive wins, including a huge conference victory over Warrensville Heights that has the Titans locked in a fight for the league title.
“It shows that we can come back from anything,” senior forward Imani Thomas said. “It was a minor setback for a major comeback. It made me want to work harder because I know what this team is capable of.”
Thomas is one of the leaders on the Titans alongside fellow senior captain Mackenzie Barricklow. The two are a part of a leadership group that helps set what players describe as a no-nonsense type of atmosphere.
“I just try to set an example for everybody,” Thomas said. “I try to come into practice every day serious and ready to go. So that they know that everything we do has meaning for the next game. It hasn’t been easy, but everyone has done a pretty good job and it’s got us this far.”
Barricklow doesn’t take the honor of being named a captain lightly.
“I’m very honored to be one of the leaders of this team,” Barricklow said. “I’ve always kind of been the quiet one. So I didn’t expect to be named a captain, so it’s been very cool. I love this team and I love being able to help the younger kids.”
The two have helped set the tone for several sophomores who have made impacts for Lorain this season: Brooklyn Ferguson, Tanisha Llanos and Kiara Jenkins.
All three are among the top 3-point shooters on the team, while contributing on defense with active hands, Ferguson and Llanos
lead the team in steals.
Another young Titan making her impact known is freshman Daiasha Pruchinsky, a midseason call-up from a junior varsity squad that is 12-0.
“Dalasha has been really under control with the ball, after that Ridgeville game we moved her up full time and we haven’t lost since,” Feldmann said. “She’s starting for us. She doesn’t score much. But she drives the bus for us. She’s been a big upgrade for us, because not everybody can be a point guard, and she’s kind of steadied that position for us a bit.”
Perhaps the biggest addition for Lorain this season has been Evans, a Lutheran
West transfer. The senior leads the Titans in scoring (10.3) is second in rebounding (7.7) and has made plays all over the court for Lorain this year.
She’s also made it clear that the Titans have more goals than just being conference champions and making a deep tournament run.
“We try to be better than the boys. That’s what Destiny says,” her teammate Ferguson said.
With big games remaining on the schedule in the second half of the season alongside a realistic shot at winning the league title, the Titans will certainly have a chance to make that a reality.