Northeast Ohio College Prep

Northeast Ohio College Prep's gymnasium in Tremont.

(Nathaniel Cline, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The emotions of a 107-point loss carried over on Friday for the Northeast Ohio College Preparatory girls basketball team.

But the squad ended the week with some newfound support from the Tremont area where the five-year school is located.

"I said to myself 'where is this school and how did I not know about this I've been down here for almost 20 years,'" said Fat Cats restaurant owner Ricardo Sandoval. "I need to know more about this school, I need to be a fan of their team and I need to reach out to them."

Sandoval offered a free brunch to the team after Prep's 108-1 loss on Wednesday to Gilmour in the OHSAA Division III sectional playoffs. It was the first playoff game for Prep, seeded No. 13 in the sectional tournament, against top-seeded Gilmour.

"When I received that email this afternoon it made me feel really good that people are trying to uplift our children even in defeat," said Prep principal Vada Giles-Weeks.

Prep, in its third season, won only a single game playing mostly home schools this season. Out of the eight players who suited up, the principal said at most two have experience playing basketball.

"The school is feeling downhearted and the girls are devastated," Giles-Weeks said. "They played their hardest, gave it their all and many of them have never played basketball."

Friday afternoon, the school fired its athletic director, Justin Shillick.

Next to the school's mission of preparing students for college, the principal said she wants to continue to see the athletic program grow and offer organized sports for the students that travel from around the Cleveland area. Prep, an enrollment size of 271, became a member of the OHSAA this school year.

The team practices on a non-regulation court splitting time with the boys team and plays home games at a local recreational center. Practice typically is an hour long, as some students travel up to an hour to get home on public transportation.

The basketball team has not scheduled a trip yet to Fat Cats restaurant, located a couple of blocks away from the school. However, the 19-year owner said he looks forward to the squad's arrival.

"I think as a business owner it's not just about making money, but it's about helping people," Sandoval said. "It's about being neighbors and helping everyone around you become better, and that's what I believe in."

Contact Nathaniel Cline via email (ncline@cleveland.com) and Twitter (@nathanielcline).