WARREN - Standing at 6-feet tall, Lordstown's Sarah Cash towers above most players guarding her.
Easily one of the tallest players on her team, the junior plays on the wing for the Red Devils. Although she plays guard for her AAU team, she spent the first two years at Lordstown in the post.
"It's a hard matchup for a lot of teams height-wise," Lordstown coach Dave Smith said. "She works hard and does a great job for us."
Cash's height proved too much for host Kennedy in Thursday's game as the Red Devils cruised, 49-27.
Cash finished with a double-double, recording 23 points and 20 rebounds for Lordstown (4-0). She was one rebound shy of a double-double by the end at the first half.
She punished the Eagles (0-4) on the offense boards. Cash grabbed nine offensive rebounds throughout the game, and she converted four of those rebounds into put-back baskets and an assist for 10 second-chance points.
"I feel like everybody could (rebound) if they just went in for it, but the bigger girls can jump higher," Cash said. "So, it makes it easier."
On top of her ability on the glass, Cash wreaked havoc on Kennedy defensively, as she recorded five steals for the Red Devils.
Her play earned her high praise from Kennedy coach John Baytos.
"She's very long, very athletic," he said. "She covers a lot of ground with those attributes. She's just got a real good feel for the game, and I've got to give her a lot of credit. She's really turned into one of the top players (in the area)."
Starting in the second quarter, the Red Devils picked up the intensity on defense.
Lordstown's full-court press suffocated the Eagles, forcing 20 turnovers in the game. Seven of those turnovers came in the final 3 minutes of the second quarter as the Red Devils stretched out their lead to 15 points by halftime.
"At the end of the first quarter, we emphasized that we needed to pick it up," Smith said. "Our big emphasis was on stopping (Lauren) Lee. That was the big thing - trying to keep the ball out of her hands."
The game was rough for Baytos and the Eagles, with Lordstown holding Kennedy to only three points in the third quarter.
But Kennedy bounced back early in the fourth, scoring five points on three-consecutive possessions. It gave Baytos something to work on as the team moves forward.
"I thought that for about the first 4-5 minutes of the third quarter, we lost some of our flow," Baytos said. "I thought we rushed a couple of things, but that's Lordstown's defense too. Give them credit for that. Those are things that we're going to continue to work on to get better at."
Tuesday, the Red Devils play Western Reserve in a game that starts at 3:15 p.m. The Cleveland Cavaliers play the Los Angeles Lakers, starting at 7 p.m.
Tickets are available at Lordstown High School for the Cavs game that night.
This game at Quicken Loans Arena is a big deal for Red Devils, especially Cash, who's a huge Cavaliers fan.
"I'm extremely excited because the Cavs are my favorite team ever," she said.
