Ohio — The Avon Lake Power Plant was a fixture in the community for nearly a century RELATED: WATCH: Avon Lake power plant implodes The Avon Lake Historical Society formed a committee composed of city officials and volunteers to preserve artifacts from the power plant "They're going to start to tear down the original building here soon and we're going to save the archway and the stairway and the walls that alongside that stairway," said Tony Tomanek president of the Avon Lake Historical Society Good Morning Cleveland anchor Tiffany Tarpley spoke to Tomanek about what the group recovered so far including the clock that ran the plant and lights that were on top of the smokestacks Some of the artifacts are being stored at the Avon Lake Public Library told Tarpley the items will be showcased in a special room "What we're envisioning with the space is taking all the walls and telling the history of the power plant from construction to demolition and throughout the space adding the different artifacts that really illustrate key moments in the history," said Rutger The project at library should be completed in the next year or so As for the future of the site where the power plant once stood Avon Lake plans to purchase a portion of the property along the lakefront and transform it into a public park Tomanek said he wants to build a commemorative garden there "I want my grandchildren and my grandchildren's children to be able to walk down this park and see this plaque and this this display that says this was once here," said Tomanek More than two months after the final implosion at the Avon Lake Power Plant a group of neighbors is bringing their concerns over the demolition to court RELATED: Avon Lake Power Plant implodes Avon Lake Mayor Mark Spaetzel appeared for a hearing in Lorain County Probate Court It was his first appearance since a group filed a lawsuit calling for his removal from office The so-called “Ohio Citizens for Honesty Integrity and Openness in Government Ltd.” presented their allegations during a city council meeting on February 24 RELATED: New lawsuit calls for Avon Lake Mayor's removal from office The 31-page lawsuit alleges the mayor violated city ordinance and his duty to serve Avon Lake residents when he did not delay the planned implosions at the former Avon Lake Power Plant A small blast in July and a larger implosion in December had sparked concerns over the potential health and environmental consequences Spaetzel has previously called the claims “false and baseless.” Tuesday’s hearing did not address the allegations but turned into procedural sparring over venue “This is a chicken and an egg kind of situation,” Lorain County Probate Judge James Walther said during the hearing He explained it was the first case of its kind he had presided over in his position and the statute giving Ohio probate courts authority over removal from office cases was written in 1871 Walther raised questions about the role of Gerald Phillips the attorney who filed the lawsuit and presented himself as representation for the seven other plaintiffs in the case The judge said the statute calls for the city law director to prosecute such cases Phillips filed a motion to disqualify Avon Lake Law Director Gary Ebert from the case because he was appointed by the mayor and may have a conflict of interest in the case He also asked to disqualify Spaetzel’s attorney Kevin Butler because of his ties to the city Ebert and Butler argued their representation and any conflicts are irrelevant because the case should not be in probate court at all Both said Avon Lake’s city charter already outlines a procedure to remove a mayor It requires city council members to vote on removal or a referendum by residents There’s no conflict of interest when we all agree that a case should be dismissed and that’s what’s happened here,” Butler told News 5 Tuesday Judge Walthers did not rule on the motions presented Tuesday He set a tentative trial date for March 14 but told the court he would make several decisions before then he plans to issue rulings whether to disqualify any of the attorneys and will decide whether to dismiss the case entirely Phillips said his group would appeal a dismissal News 5 reported on the Avon Lake City School District's decision to raise tuition for its all-day kindergarten program due to budget constraints following voters' rejection of a bond and operating levy last year tuition for all-day kindergarten goes from $2,400 to $6,280 Superintendent Joelle Magyar said the district had planned to eliminate the all-day offering because tuition only covers about 40% of costs Magyar said parents expressed their concerns “We had some parents who came back to us and said We want our kids to stay in Avon Lake,’” Magyar said “And we said the only way that we could actually have a full-day option available is if it was fully funded by the parents please have a full-day option for our kids.’” enrollment would be capped at 120 and if there were more applicants than spots 189 students are enrolled in all-day kindergarten I checked with Magyar on Tuesday afternoon and there were about 20 all-day kindergarten spots left I spoke to two mothers who were concerned about the price hike and challenges some families would face I checked back in to see what they decided said she enrolled her daughter in all-day kindergarten wanted her daughter to attend all-day kindergarten like her older siblings did but opted for the free half-day offering Ohio — Thursday morning marked a milestone in Avon Lake City leaders hailed the final implosion at the former power plant a success Crowds gathered early Thursday to witness a series of blasts and a large fireball topple five structures WATCH: Avon Lake power plant implodes “Fantastic - I’ve been waiting for it for a long time,” one man told News 5 “That’s why we all got up at 5 o’clock in the morning Some spectators brought food and drinks for an “implosion tailgate.” Melissa Clifford draped tarps over the shelves and products at Element LABS The business owner was hoping to protect her merchandise from any dust or ceiling tiles that could shake loose during the blast “I was just trying to prepare for a ‘what if,’” she said Clifford and her husband returned home around 2 a.m Thursday after a late night at the Lake Road shop They slept through the implosion but were awoken by a police officer explaining the vibrations had shattered the windows at Element LABS ‘I don’t even know what to do right now,’” Clifford recalled when she saw the damage She said someone from the Avon Lake Environmental Redevelopment Group (ALERG) and the mayor were both on scene shortly after she arrived ALERG pledged to cover the costs of all repairs and any lost sales revenue Clifford said she was grateful for the quick response but acknowledged the damage was a disruption during the busiest time of year She estimated that nearly 50% of sales for her homemade candles I’m just looking around and going - my products Thursday marked the final implosion at the power plant A smaller blast over the summer demolished a boiler building on the property Neighbors had called for a pause in the demolition to more closely examine health and safety concerns RELATED: Avon Lake neighbors unsuccessful in calls for pause ahead of Wednesday power plant implosion The EPA monitored the air quality in the area before The city said testing results from the previous implosion showed minimal risks to public health The demolition will make way for a major redevelopment project at the lakefront property Plans include a new lakeside park and commercial or residential space RELATED: Avon Lake Power Plant demolition expected to finish in spring of 2025 “One of the things we’ve always heard from our residents This provides that opportunity for us,” Mayor Mark Spaetzel told News 5 Wednesday evening Clifford said she looks forward to new investment in the city but doesn’t anticipate her business benefitting from the project in the near future She planned to reopen the Lake Rd storefront on Friday and will continue to sell her products online she said the community was already showing its support and making purchases “I think we have a great community of people who support us and I know we’ll persevere,” she said Avon Lake plans to maintain updates on the future of the former power plant HERE Ohio — Student-athletes and families are worried about the future of their teams after a failed levy and bond issue in Avon Lake Avon Lake City Schools discussed possible reductions the district may make Cuts are likely after voters rejected a bond issue and levy on Nov Avon Lake was seeking both an operating levy and bond issue to fund new schools make facility repairs and maintain current buildings RELATED: Avon Lake City Schools to put bond issue, operating levy on November ballot the district released a diagram of possible reductions that could be necessary if either or both measures failed community members weighed in on the scenarios the district is considering whether to eliminate athletic programs that rent off-campus facilities “It started to get a little bit more real and we got a little more concerned that we might not have a team in the future,” said Connor Renz a senior and captain of the Avon Lake hockey team The team rents practice and game space at the Hamilton Ice Arena in Rocky River also rely on outside facilities and could face elimination “If these sports aren’t going to be continued to be offered at the high school level I’m afraid that there will be more kids that will leave the school system to play someplace else,” said Kirsten Gibel “We moved to Avon Lake so that our boys could play hockey at their high school with their friends.” The parents pointed to the benefits their children have experienced from high school sports learned discipline and time management skills and been incentivized to maintain good grades and behavior The hockey families told News 5 they’d be willing to pay higher fees and leverage booster and fundraising money to bridge any financial gaps Avon Lake Superintendent Joelle Magyar was not available for an interview Wednesday but she said the district already plans to raise all athletic fees the feasibility of other options will be determined “We want to be part of that conversation,” said parent Beth Wallace “We’re certain we can come up with a solution for everyone to achieve their goals.” Cutting athletic programs is one of many proposals to trim the district’s expenses The district has also been discussing whether to cut staffing eliminate all-day kindergarten or close one of the elementary schools Magyar said the district plans to finalize those decisions by March 1 Families said they hope the impact on students from any cuts is minimal Student-athletes said they’re hoping to find ways to preserve their teams “If there’s any way that we could even have a chance as a team that would be really important to us and mean a lot to us,” said Renz Louisville Leopards Athletics News & Video: Leopard Nation <<< Vs. Wooster | Girls Basketball Schedule The #23 seed Louisville Leopards Girls Basketball Team fell to the host #5 seed Avon Lake Shoregals 41-23 Wednesday night in the DIII Northeast 6 District Semifinals at Avon Lake High School the Lady Leopards finish the season at 11-13 View Recap | View Box Score  Maggie Baker accounted for three of Louisville’s four field goals and led the Lady Leopards with 10 points scored Louisville’s only other field goal off an assist from Karis Miglich in the opening quarter Baker also led the Leopards with three rebounds and converted all four of her free throw attempts Miglich matched Baker’s 4-for-4 performance from the line as the Lady Leopards hit 15 of 18 free throws overall Miglich also contributed two assists and a steal Senior Courtney Barwick scored all six of her points from the free throw line in her final game for Louisville She and Baker were the only Lady Leopards to score in every quarter Barwick also added two rebounds and a steal Barwick finishes her brilliant four-year career as Louisville Girls Basketball’s all-time three-pointer leader with 133 She also ranks second in all-time scoring with 1,191 career points Olivia Miller scored 10 of her game-high 15 points in the first half to lead Avon Lake taking an 11-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and extending it to 20-15 at halftime Miller hit three of Avon Lake’s five three-pointers and scored in every quarter Bre Jones connected on the other two three-pointers Avon Lake outscored Louisville 12-4 in the third pushing its lead to 32-19 heading into the fourth Jones tallied 10 of her 12 points in the second half Olivia Tobin rounded out Avon Lake’s top scorers with six points The Shoregals have now won nine of their last 11 games Avon Lake advances to the DIII Northeast 6 District Championship where they will face the #12 seed Westlake Demons at Nordonia’s Hugh Griffith Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday This marked the first-ever meeting between Louisville and Avon Lake The Shoregals are the 89th different opponent in Louisville Girls Basketball history and the eighth new opponent faced this season The Lady Leopards finish the campaign 2-6 against new teams Louisville is now 49-49 all-time in postseason play including a 2-9 record in road tournament games The Lady Leopards have now lost eight consecutive district semifinal games and have not reached a district final since 1996 <<< Vs. Wooster | Girls Basketball Tournament History You can also Submit an Article Louisville Leopards Athletics News & Video: Leopard Nation © 2025 Powered by  - Designed with the Hueman theme Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInAVON LAKE Ohio (WOIO) - The Avon Lake Police Department is mourning the passing of K-9 Ady whose four paws enforced the laws for more than 10 years K-9 Ady’s served alongside his partner in fighting crime “Avon Lake Police Department would like to extend our condolences to the Rudduck family and thank them for the love and care they provided Ady during his career and retirement,” ALPD shared Article Presented By Pickaway Ross CTC Adult Education… the (21-5) Avon Lake Shoregals went on an 8-0 run to start the final period and never trailed again en-route to a 47-37 Division 3 Regional Semifinal victory that ended the (21-5) Unioto Lady Shermans season at Zanesville’s Winland Gymnasium Both teams traded leads in the opening quarter with the Shoregals up 15-12 to end the period Unioto grabbed the lead back at 16-15 and were up 23-20 before settling for a 23-22 advantage at halftime the lead see-sawed in the third quarter with Unioto taking a 34-33 lead to end the period But the fourth quarter belonged to Avon Lake as they started on their 8-0 run for a 41-33 advantage The Lady Shermans never got any closer than six points the rest of the contest at 41-35 and 43-37 Avon Lake was successful eating up the clock playing keep-away and forcing Unioto to foul which the Shoregals connected on enough of their free throws to pull away for the final margin of 47-37 Three Shoregals finished in double figures led by 5’10 junior Olivia Miller’s 12 points/10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots 5’6 senior Olivia Tobin and 5’11 senior Bre Jones each had 11 points with Jones grabbing 9 rebounds and blocking two shots Defensive specialist Izzie Polinko scored 5 points but doubled that in effectiveness as she helped shut down Unioto’s high-powered offense 5’11 sophomore Molly Milligan added 4 points and 6 rebounds while Evelyn Ritt and Alyssa Jones each scored 2 points Junior Milee Smith was the only Unioto player in double figures The Lady Shermans conclude their season at (21-5) CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO HEAR THE LITTER MEDIA RADIO GAME REPLAY Design by Marcy Design AVON LAKE, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Transportation is looking for your feedback on a study to improve safety and congestion because of Ford Ohio Assembly Plant’s expansion in Avon Lake News 5 reached out to the Ohio Department of Transportation on Friday and they weren’t available for an interview However, according to a study on ODOT’s website the department said there have been more than 1,400 reported crashes from 2019 to 2023 in the area Sheffield Lake local Craig Lewis said he’s noticed a few more crashes in recent years he said it doesn’t seem like a regular issue he’s glad ODOT is doing something to look at congestion “If there’s anything they can do to help make things a little more convenient [and] less congested obviously we would all appreciate it,” Lewis said As the owner of Erie Outfitters in Sheffield Lake Lewis said he welcomes any opportunity to boost sales for his fishing business “We kind of started this as a mom-and-pop business,” Lewis said That’s why he said he’s optimistic about Ford Ohio Assembly Plant’s expansion which News 5 first told you about last August when the company announced its plans to begin an all-electric commercial van in Avon Lake in 2026 This would double Ford’s workforce in Lorain County by adding 1,800 jobs RELATED: Ford plans to start production of all-electric commercial van at Lorain County plant in 2026 “Increased traffic is always good for business I’m hoping it doesn’t cause too many rush hour issues in the morning heading up towards I-90 and I imagine it’s going to get busier and busier,” said Lewis ODOT hopes to use this information to develop a plan to identify specific transportation recommendations to support increased traffic from Ford’s expansion “Anytime new people come to the community with Ford hiring it’s going to bring people to the community so the increase [in] traffic will hopefully benefit me and outweigh the inconvenience of having to wait a few minutes,” Lewis said The last day to submit your comments is next Friday .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Michael Trivisonno | special to cleveland.comCANTON Avon Lake led from the opening possession on Sunday ultimately coming away with a 43-39 win over Brush to land in the Division III state championship game on March 14 at the University of Dayton Arena it feels good to come this far with them,” junior forward Olivia Miller said with a smile on her face Sunday afternoon was different as the Shoregals took a lead from the opening tip I thought us taking a lead early and getting comfortable and confident was really good,” Shoregals coach Paul Appel said “Our girls believed we were a different team but sometimes you need to see it.” The Shoregals (23-5) will take on three-time defending state champion Cincinnati Purcell Marian (23-6) on Friday in the state final Both teams came out with physical defense that forced a lot of contested shots early on The Shoregals never trailed in the first quarter and even got out to a 7-3 lead six minutes into the game They continued that early momentum and took a 7-5 lead after the first quarter Basketball nominee Tatiana Mason 10 minutes to score her first points of the game She often found herself facilitating and finding open teammates throughout the first half it seemed like the Arcs were trying to attack the zone defense but they couldn’t get anything to fall near the rim Neither team made a 3-pointer in the first half but the inside presence of sophomore forward Molly Milligan was a problem for the Arcs throughout the night She ended the first half with a game-high eight points The Shoregals held Tatiana Mason and Nyla Mason to a combined six points and took an 18-15 lead at halftime “They clogged up the middle and we missed a lot of runners in the middle and layups it’s too many points,” Brush coach Demarris Winters said The Arcs continued to answer the Shoregals throughout the second half Second-chance points were big for the Arcs often leading to a couple of layups that finally went through Tatiana Mason gave the Arcs their first lead of the game one minute into the fourth quarter But then came the Shoregals answering on the other end Senior guard Bre Jones came off the bench in the fourth quarter to knock down a 3-pointer along with Miller and Olivia Tobin making plays offensively to continue to lead late into the fourth quarter With her team leading 41-29 with under 20 seconds left Miller made two free throws to make it a two-possession game The Arcs weren’t able to find clean looks at the end which left the Shoregals celebrating just one win away from a state championship Miller said that matching the physicality from the Arcs played an imperative role in the outcome of the game “We knew they were going to come out physical so we just knew to come back physical as well,” Miller said “We kind of made them play a little more in the half court and when they came to pressure us we made a lot of good decisions to make them pay with layups on the other end,” Appel added Miller paced the Shoregals offense with 16 points Tobin added nine points to go along with eight from Milligan Nyla Mason finished with a team-high 10 points Jakayln Brown had nine points and Tatiana Mason finished with seven The win snaps the Arcs’ 22-game winning streak but Winters has high hopes for a team graduating just two seniors “I’m happy to be a part of what we do … It hurts but they had an answer for everything we did.” Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices Ohio — Student-athletes in Avon Lake will have a season next school year The decision to keep five high school teams comes as Avon Lake City Schools face likely cuts after a failed levy and bond issue the mother of twin junior boys who play both golf and hockey for Avon Lake High School faced possible elimination after voters rejected an operating levy on November 5 All of those teams practice and compete in off-site facilities and many require rental and transportation fees Cutting the programs was one of many proposals to trim the district’s expenses RELATED: Avon Lake student-athletes plead to preserve their teams proposing ways to save the district money and preserve their children’s teams “They not only were willing to listen to us but they wanted to help find solutions,” said Beth Wallace the mother of senior and freshman hockey players at Avon Lake High School The district agreed to keep all sports teams for the 2025-2026 school year while trimming other expenses and raising pay-to-participate fees for all athletics junior high student-athletes will pay $200 per student per sport High school prices will vary for each team ranging from $300-700 per student per sport “If we have students where this is really just a financial burden for the family we don’t want them not to participate so we’re looking at outside organizations to provide support in that area as well,” said Avon Lake Superintendent Joelle Magyar the district has been looking at other ways to cut costs it finalized plans to cap all-day kindergarten enrollment at 120 slots All-day kindergarten families will be responsible for covering the $6,280 tuition for the next school year the school with the district’s lowest enrollment is slated to close at the end of the 2024-2025 school year Students there will be split between Eastview and Redwood based on their geography ALCS is also offering retirement incentives for the second consecutive year hoping to avoid the need for staff layoffs District leaders say finding ways to trim $2 million annually has been a difficult process “We know we have to cut and it’s going to affect the kids But what will affect them the least?” said Magyar Some families worry the preservation of sports and other programs will be temporary One father of an Avon Lake swimmer reached out to News 5 Tuesday The boys' swim and dive program has won four consecutive conference championships and he said the team has helped build positive habits and experiences for his children “I feel all these athletes may suffer some decrease in personal development confidence and sense of responsibility as maturing young adults,” he said in a message to News 5 Others agree sports and other programs can help define some students’ high school experience “Sometimes that sport is their connection to friends sometimes it’s the motivating factor to get their academics done,” said Wallace The district will be weighing more cuts in the coming months It plans to finalize its decisions by March Ohio (WOIO) - The final implosion of the former Avon Lake Power Plant took place around 5:30 a.m Two smokestacks and three buildings were brought down safely Avon Lake Environmental Redevelopment Group (ALERG) determined Thursday’s weather conditions were the best day for the demolition Residents received a notification around 5 a.m that the implosion was on as scheduled and received the all-clear at 5:50 a.m residents were asked to stay inside and keep their windows and doors shut A 1,700-foot exclusion zone was established around the site for additional safety Mary and Brush in the regular season Avon Lake has made it's way past both to advance to this season's Division III state basketball championship.David Petkiewicz .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Jonathan X. Simmons, cleveland.comAVON LAKE “It’s hard to beat a good team twice,” holds true for the Avon Lake girls basketball team knowing the Shoregals had the talent and scheme to make a deep run wanted to make sure they were battle tested in the regular season “We tried from day one to challenge ourselves,” Appel said “We think it’s important to play good teams all year and through those moments we had huge wins and we had games where we didn’t play great But we learned lessons from every game we played I think it started to pay off at the most important time.” Part of that challenge for Avon Lake included scheduling 12 games against teams that made the cleveland.com Top 25 rankings at some point this season They picked up big wins against teams like Magnificat and Warrensville Heights Mary — three potential Division III postseason opponents — things did not go their way we were right there the first time,” Appel said When the opportunity for rematches against Brush and STVM in the regional final and state semifinal presented themselves the Shoregals didn’t squander the opportunity “I think since we played them once already we knew what to expect again in playoffs,” Avon Lake junior Olivia Miller said “I was kinda looking at it like revenge because I didn’t want to lose them twice The three-point loss to STVM was Avon Lakes' first of the season After trailing Brush by six at halftime the Shoregals fell 70-52 in the first matchup The rematch presented a stark contrast as Avon Lake held off the Arcs in a 43-39 win Revenge was certainly on the Shoregals' minds but the fear of lacing their shoes up one last time this season was just as much of a driving factor ‘This is our time to go get it.’ But the playoffs is just a time where you’re never promised another day or practice,” Shoregals senior Izzie Polinko said “Every individual player has been playing their heart out.” The key difference in the rematch was the Shoregals’ understanding of their mistakes in the first game “I can’t really remember many breakaway layups that we gave up on Sunday because we trust our half court defense a lot,” Appel said “We were able to make them guard us in the half court And when they ran around and tried to trap us defensively solid basketball plays and were able to finish the shots.” Of course it helps when you have a team full of players that can all shoot The Shoregals' offensive plan of attack is predicated on ball movement and forcing a defense to move rotate and not be able to key in on any one player “That makes everything enjoyable for the kids Kids like to play a game where they all feel like they’re gonna get the ball and I think it just makes us hard to scout,” Appel said “We play against a lot of really good coaches ‘Who are they gonna take away?’ There have been times they’ve taken a girl or two away and they’ve only scored two or four points The Shoregals' experience is another big piece of what has allowed them to be so successful this season They are comprised mostly of upperclassmen that have played in big moments and have had to work their way out of many different situations they’ve faced in the last few seasons “It starts with our ability to handle pressure against really good defensive teams with two senior guards and Izzy Polinko and Olivia Tobin,” Appel said Polinko and Tobin are typically the ones bringing the ball up the court while Miller and Bre Jones combine for 19.2 points per game to lead the Shoregals in scoring “(Tobin has) used all of her experience to help push us forward in these big games her leadership has been big down the stretch,” Appel said “(Miller has) started to really assert herself and become our best offensive player .. she’s such a key for us at both ends of the court.” Polinko may be a savant when it comes to making her way through a defense It’s bittersweet knowing her high school career is ending but reaching the final week of the season makes it easier to accept and I’m really proud of everybody on this team,” Polinko said “I knew we were gonna be really good this year and we haven’t made it to states in 31 years So it’s just crazy to think that we’re here now.” Avon Lake’s postseason run started before the tournament when they dropped a second matchup with Olmsted Falls that would have given them a share of the Southwestern Conference title The Shoregals will put everything on the line Friday in the Division III state title matchup against three-time defending state champion Cincinnati Purcell Marian With a sendoff scheduled for Thursday and no school on Friday the entire Avon Lake community has rallied around the Shoregals as they head into the first state championship since winning it all in 1994 and it’s just it’s been really fun for the kids “That’s what high school sports are about,” Appel said and they’re going to remember the sendoff as much as they remember the shot they hit the state championship game.” the Unioto girls’ basketball team was able to do just enough against Avon Lake during Wednesday’s Division III regional semifinal The Lady Shermans took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter but couldn’t sustain it in the fourth quarter as the Shoregals started the fourth on an 8-0 run and Unioto never recovered as Avon Lake pulled away for a 47-37 victory at Zanville’s Winland Gymnasium More: Unioto girls basketball staves off Sheridan for district final bid | Photos Unioto had opportunities in the first half to create some separation but failed to take advantage of easy scoring chances the Shoregals were able to use their height and athleticism to their advantage and their length was a concern of ours going in,” Unioto coach Jeff Miller said and not only are they long but also long and athletic but I felt like in the first half if we would have played a little cleaner we could have had a bigger lead and that could have changed the complexion of things The Shoregals face-guarded Unioto star guard Mylee Smith the whole game Avon Lake (21-5) led 15-12 at the end of the first quarter but the Shermans regained the lead and took a 23-22 lead at halftime Smith started to make her presence felt in the third as she scored six points to keep the Shermans in front by one heading to the fourth quarter Not only did Avon Lake go on an 8-0 run to start the fourth to build a 41-34 lead the Shermans went four minutes without scoring They only scored three points in the quarter and went just 1 for 10 from the field Smith led the Shermans with 15 points and seven rebounds Mya Hamilton added seven points and six rebounds and Magnolia Holbert chipped in six points and three assists every possession becomes critical and you have to take advantage of your opportunities,” Miller said “We left some points out there in the first half and let them hang around.” Unioto finished a fantastic season by going 21-5 overall as well as going unbeaten in the Scioto Valley Conference Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips