FITCH SNEAKS PAST THE SPARTANS
By Ty Bartell
AUSTINTOWN OH- On day two of the rivalry between The Austintown-Fitch Falcons and Boardman Spartans, it would be the girls basketball teams taking it to the hardwood for their first matchup of the season in Austintown. Both teams entered Wednesday night looking good, with a solid resume of wins under each of their belts. More importantly, both teams went into Wednesday undefeated in All American Conference (AAC) play, meaning someone had to leave with a conference loss in a wide open AAC.
Boardman struck first with an 8-0 run off a couple of perimeter shots finding nylon by both Ava Freeborough and Tori Strines. The Falcons would respond, scoring the next 5 points in the quarter, trimming the deficit to just a single possession in a defensive quarter, leaning The Spartans way at 8-5. Fitch’s offense would wake up in the second quarter, with Ayla Ray setting the tone in a 14-5 second quarter for The Falcons giving Austintown the 19-13 halftime lead.
Out of the halftime break, defense, once again, took center stage. With both teams being held to single digits in the quarter, The Falcons would get a slight edge at 8-7 in the third to own a 27-20 lead entering the fourth. Both squads opted to save all the scoring for the fourth quarter and provided fast-paced action in another classic AAC battle! In the closing moments, The Spartans were able to tie the game off a couple Mackenzie Riccitelli free throws at 35-35! Fitch would respond with a massive Ayla Ray corner three to reclaim the lead! The Ace of Lace struck again when Ray knocked down two ice cold free throws to cap off a major 40-38 conference win for The Falcons!
Player of the Game was “Ace” Ayla Ray, finishing with a game high 19 points including three shots from distance.
A postgame interview with Ray and Head Coach Dan Horacek can be found below! Other key contributors for Fitch include Rachel Spalding who had 9 points through hard-fought defense and Destanie McCullough who was masterful in the passing game while finishing with 7 points of her own. Dasiyia Donlow also put on the defensive cape for The Falcons, locking down the post on multiple occasions. Boardman was led offensively by Mackenzie Riccitelli who had 18 points and 4 steals on the night. Sarah Bero also had a great night for The Spartans, coming a single rebound shy of a double-double with a 10 point and 9 rebound night.
Fitch (11-3)(3-0) stays undefeated in AAC play and currently The Falcons are perched atop the conference standings following the win. The Falcons next contest will not come until Saturday, January 20th when they travel to Warren G. Harding (6-6)(0-2) in a battle with The Raiders. Meanwhile, Boardman (8-4)(1-1) will also have their next contest come against Harding; however, a week sooner than Fitch when The Spartans host The Raiders on Saturday, January 13th with a 2:30 p.m. tip-off. Stay updated with AAC basketball all season long with live games, scores, stats, stories and more on YSN
