FITCH FACES ADVERSITY HEAD ON

For the second time in two days, The Hilliard-Davidson Wildcats squared-off with another All-American Conference (AAC) opponent at The South Range Holiday Hoops Classic, this time it was The Austintown-Fitch Falcons. In their contest Wednesday night, The Wildcats won a thriller after trailing a majority of the game to The Howland Tigers, while Fitch suffered the wrath of The Dangerous Dukes of Marlington in day one of the classic. 

After a battle with turnovers, The Falcons opted to change their lineup around a bit, featuring Sam Severn and Kara Pirone as starters against Hilliard-Davidson. With Severn operating the point and Pirone as a versatile post player, Fitch was able to find first half success! As Severn distributed the ball well and the team found Pirone, who got loose a couple times early for scores. The Wildcats started finding a response, with Kiersten Cashell finding her range from distance and knocking down a couple shots prior to the halftime buzzer. After the first 16 minutes of play, The Falcons found themselves in front by double-digits 25-15.

Entering the second half, Fitch looked to keep the same energy on the defensive side to give them more offensive looks. Jocelyn Jourdan was a force off the bench for Fitch, with her dominance in the rebounding department, she was able to clean up the glass while adding various 2nd chance points throughout the game. The Falcons were even with The Wildcats in the second half, with both squads exchanging 16 points a piece in the final two quarters. 

Rachel Spalding was The Player of The Game for her clutch baskets in the fourth quarter to hold off various Wildcat runs that threatened the lead for Austintown. Her late buckets kept momentum in Fitch’s court and contributed heavily in their 41-31 victory over Hilliard Davidson! 

Both teams finished 1-1 after two games in two days at The South Range Holiday Hoops Classic, as The Wildcats are 2-8 after the classic, while Fitch is now 3-7 overall. The next game for The Falcons will be at the home of The Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, where they will do battle with AAC foe, The Howland Tigers. That contest is slated for the day after New Years, on Monday, January 2nd.

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell