FITCH GETS LONG AWAITED WIN OVER SPARTANS

In a rivalry that needs no introduction, saw The Austintown Fitch Lady Falcons welcome in The Boardman Lady Spartans on Wednesday night!

The first quarter was low-scoring and scrappy, as most AAC conference games are. The AAC is also a conference that, on the girls side, is very young overall.

Howland and Canfield lead the way with the most experience, but for Boardman and Fitch, the two teams have combined two seniors in Julia Senediak (Fitch) and Emma Mills (Boardman).

Throughout all that youth in The AAC, some stars have started to emerge this year and for years to come!

For The Lady Spartans, junior Cami Goske was a force on the boards for a team that averages over 30 rebounds a game (31.2).

Second quarter would be a fight for points, as Fitch edged Boardman in the second 8-6, to bring the score in favor of The Lady Falcons 19-14 at the half.

Speaking of young stars that have emerged, junior Zayda Creque posted another great night in the box score, with 17 points of offense, but also has *Unofficially* broke The Austintown Lady Falcons record for 3s in a season! Previously at 56, Creque now has 58 distance shots and counting!

Boardman also has a young guard star in sophomore Mackenzie Riccitelli. The Lady Spartans scoring leader had another fantastic night! With her dribbling wizardry and court awareness, it helped her drop dimes throughout the game! She felt the veins freezing up in the fourth as well, hitting some huge 3s late to keep Boardman close to the very end!

The Player of the Game went to opposing sophomore guard, Fitch’s Ayla Ray, who is The Lady Falcons current leader in rebounds, assists and steals per game on the season. Ayla had a 21 point performance on Wednesday, that led both teams in scoring!

Her performance helped lead The Lady Falcons to their second conference win of the year, 54-48 over their rival Boardman, after not capturing a conference win the season prior!

Boardman (5-11) will stay in the AAC as the host #8 The Canfield Lady Cardinals (11-5) on Saturday, January 29th.

For Austintown (11-7), they will battle Warren Harding (4-9) for the second time this year, this time on The Lady Raiders court. That matchup will also occur on Saturday, January 29th!

Postgame Interview With Jeff Wilson: