Girls basketball: Southview outlasts Firelands for first win of the season
Hans Schneider | The Chronicle-Telegram
HENRIETTA TWP. — Southview coach Scott Pizak knows there aren’t going to be many nights when his Saints can overcome two opponents — themselves and the opposition.
Luckily for Pizak and his team, Thursday was one of those nights, as Southview overcame an abysmal display of shooting in the first half to beat Firelands, 59-53, in non-conference action.
“The intensity is just not there for us in the first half,” said Pizak, whose team dropped its first two games by a combined four points. “Even in our first two games, we just don’t have it at the start of the game.
“It seems like we have to fall behind before we are able to pick things up. We can’t continue to do that because we are not always going to be able to get back into the game. We have to get it going from the start.”
Southview (1-2), playing for the second straight, night looked like the gang that couldn’t shoot straight as it converted just 8 of 58 shots in the first two quarters for a lowly 14 percent.
The good news for Southview was that Firelands (0-1) couldn’t take full advantage, as the Falcons committed 26 first-half turnovers to balance the Saints’ shooting woes. The miscues by both teams kept the game reasonably close, the Falcons leading 32-20 to begin the second half.
That’s when things started to click for Southview.
The Saints opened the third quarter with a 17-5 run that was keyed by Tanitra Smith. The 5-foot-2 junior scored seven of her 10 points in the quarter as the Saints tied the score at 37. Baskets by Valencia Frymier and Tierra Whitfield gave Southview a 41-37 lead before a 4-0 spurt by Firelands knotted the game at 41 entering the final quarter.
Both teams continued to trade baskets in the fourth with Southview leading 55-51 before a Teresa Davis basket cut it to 55-53 with 30 seconds left. A pair of free throws by both Maria Nazario and Whitfield ended the Firelands’ threat and secured the victory for Southview.
“We just kept working our way back despite ourselves,” said Pizak, whose team finished with 22 buckets on 90 attempts. “We never quit, and when the shots weren’t falling, we just picked things up on the defensive end.”
Southview forced Firelands into 45 turnovers.
“We had problems in transition going from defense to offense,” said Firelands coach Dave Kudela. “But I am extremely proud of how we played. At times, we had a freshman, two sophomores and two juniors on the floor. But for the first game of the year, I’ll take it. Yeah, we let a big lead go, but we continued to fight and stay in it right into the last minute. We’ll learn from this and be better for it.”
The loss by Firelands cast a cloud over an outstanding performance by Davis. The 5-foot-6 junior guard had game-highs of 23 points and 21 rebounds.
“I work hard in practice,’ said Davis, who is more than halfway to the Firelands all-time scoring mark. “Coach (Kudela) is always saying in practice to put a box on somebody and grab the rebound.
“I take a lot of things that he says as a challenge, so I knew that I needed to step up and lead by example tonight.”
Contact Hans Schneider at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.
SOUTHVIEW (59): Marisol Torres 6-0-15, Tierra Whitfield 4-6-14, Tanitra Smith 4-1-10, Maria Nazario 1-3-6, Shaniqua Ogle 2-0-4, Ieshian Edwards 2-0-4, Valencia Frymier 1-0-2, Sanita Quinn 1-0-2, Breanna Fortney 1-0-2. Totals: 22-10-59.
FIRELANDS (53): Teresa Davis 9-4-23, Abigail Williams 4-5-13, Megan Kudela 2-3-7, Rachael Melendez 3-1-7, Emily Loosli 0-1-1, Alexandra Gillen 0-1-1, Jessica Fields 0-1-1. Totals: 18-16-53
Southview 10 10 21 18 — 59
Firelands 13 19 9 12 — 53
Three-point goals: Southview 5 (Torres 3, Smith, Nazario), Firelands 1 (Davis). Field goals: Southview 22 of 90 (24 percent), Firelands 18 of 45 (40 percent). Free throws: Southview 10 of 22 (45 percent), Firelands 16 of 30 (53 percent). Rebounds: Southview 42 (Whitfield 11), Firelands 67 (Davis 21), Turnovers: Southview 18, Firelands 45. Total fouls: Southview 22, Firelands 16.
Fouled out: Southview 1 (Ogle), Firelands 1 (Davis).
Junior varsity: Southview 56-26.
LOCAL ROUNDUP
ELYRIA — Carissa Leitch tossed in 11 points to lead First Baptist to victory in Thursday’s season opener, a 23-16 decision over Open Door. Allie Miraldi topped the Patriots
(0-2) with 6 points.
OPEN DOOR (16): Courtney Gillberg 2-0-4, Aubrey Hayes 1-0-2, Jackie Pence 0-1-1, Mallory Girdler 0-0-0, Allie Miradli 3-0-6, Rachel Krause 0-1-1, Elise Gigliotti 1-0-2. TOTALS 7-2-16.
FIRST BAPTIST (23): Kari Henry 1-3-5, Megan Panfil 0-2-2, Carissa Leitch 4-1-11, Kara Barr 0-1-1, Reilly Parker 1-0-2, Dana Kincaid 1-0-2. TOTALS 7-7-23.
Open Door 4 5 4 3 — 16
First Baptist 6 3 12 2 — 23
Three-pointers: (FB) Leitch 2.
Cloverleaf 78, Oberlin 26
OBERLIN — The Phoenix fell to 0-2 Wednesday. Adrianna Young led Oberlin with eight points.
CLOVERLEAF (78): Henry 7-0-14, Jordan 1-2-4, Kilkenny 0-2-2, Pekar 9-1-19, Andel 5-2-13, Coughlin 4-0-8, Forsyte 10-0-20. TOTALS 36-5-78.
OBERLIN (26): Foster 2-0-5, Bury 1-0-2, Young 2-3-8, Causby 2-0-4, Walker 2-1-5, Andrews 1-0-2. TOTALS 10-4-26.
Cloverleaf 24 14 16 24 — 78
Oberlin 2 9 8 7 — 26
Three-pointers: (C) Andel; (O) Foster, Young.
| |
|
Filed by Hans Schneider | The Chronicle-Telegram December 5th, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 4% |
 Email this story
 Print this story
Read comments and discuss this story
Report an innappropriate comment
|
In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement
and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered, click here. If you are registered, click here to log in.
Write a Comment