GIRARD TAKES HOME OVERTIME WIN
By Noah Ricks
GIRARD, OH – It is only early December, but that did not stop the Girard and Jefferson girls’ basketball teams from playing a very good Northeast 8 matchup for everybody to see. In a game that went into overtime, coach Andrew Saxon and the Indians used a strong extra period to hold off the Falcons 44-42 on their home floor and pick up their first victory in the conference on the year.
“It’s a big win,” Saxon told YSN’s Noah Ricks. “We were 0-1, now we’re 1-1. Now hopefully we can pull off a few more. We have two more games coming up before we have a non-league game, so hopefully we can win those two.
After an evenly matched first quarter that saw both teams score 9 on the board, Jefferson got things going in the second period by having a strong 11-2 quarter. Taylor Skinner, the big girl for the Falcons, used a dominant defensive game to slow down Girard’s big girl in Mia Malito. Her aggressive, fundamental defense held Malito in check as she was only held to two points. Malito would end up fouling out of the contest with 1:17 to go in regulation. Skinner ended the night with 15 to lead all scorers.
With Malito being held silent, senior Abbie Rafferty would have to step up for the Indians. Taking over the majority of the point position for the injured Seiassia Triplett (who suffered a foot injury in Saturday’s win against Beaver Local), Saxon relied on her to get sets run and help the Indians come back from a 22-11 deficit in the third quarter. Much needed drives to the bucket and important mid-range shots helped tie the game up at 36-36 at the end of regulation. She would end the night leading the Indians with 13.
“I think, (in) the first half, we played real timid. We weren’t attacking the hoop and we were basically going horizontally, so I just said, you know, take the ball to the hoop, they’re up in your face, and you have got to play vertical. You’re making it easy for the defense when you go horizontally, so we started taking the ball to the hoop a little bit better, and we started getting some putbacks, and we made some baskets. And we shot pretty well from the free throw line, and it’s definitely a plus in a close game.”
The Indians picked up this overtime win after a heartbreaking 48-44 loss at home Monday to Lakeview. They used that lost game as motivation in the second half comeback. Girard also rebounded in spite of Triplett’s injury. Saxon was very happy with how his short-handed team handled this kind of adversity.
“You know, we lost our point guard for a few weeks, our leading scorer, our leading rebounder, and it was an adjustment, and we almost got that game, but I think the girls made a really good adjustment without having her, run the point, and I think the other two girls who run the point did a real nice job. You know, it’s an adjustment when you lose your best scorer, your best player probably, and we really rebounded back ”
The Indians will improve to 4-2 overall as they go to 1-1 in conference play. They end their three-game home stretch with a 2-1 mark as they hit the road to play the Hubbard Eagles. Saxon knows that his team must use these early-season conference games to their advantage.
“We are going to come out. We are going to try to play baseline to baseline, and run them, and move the ball down the floor, and hopefully those shots will fall for us.”
The Falcons with the heartbreaking loss will drop below .500 for the first time this year at 3-4 with a 1-2 record in Northeast 8 play. They are currently on a three-game losing streak as they will go back home next Thursday to take on conference foe Struthers.
You can watch the full interview with Coach Andrew Saxon and YSN’s Noah Ricks below.
Postgame Interview With Andrew Saxon:
