Tag Archive for: Bulldogs

BULLDOGS FIGHT OFF LEETONIA FOR BIG WIN

LEETONIA, OH- First-year East Palestine Coach Jason Ray promised he would get the Bulldog Basketball program back on track.

His team made him look like a prophet on Tuesday night, carving up a 42-37 victory on the road over Leetonia.

The win snaps a 27-game skid that takes them back to the 2019 season.  Senior, Tyler Bistarkey, who is a multi-sport athlete that has endured through the tough stretches was determined to not let the streak continue, tossed in 12 points to lead EP which included drilling free throws down the stretch to ice the game.  Evan Smith’s clutch three’s in big spots also gave the Bulldogs confidence heading into the final minutes, and Weston Jones scattered 9 points on the night.

Joey Guido led the Bears with a dozen points, while teammates Andrew Hendricks and Noah Riffee notched eight apiece.

 

WELLSVILLE GETS PROGRAM BUILDING WIN

WELLSVILLE OH- Wellsville got a huge program building win on Monday night over East Palestine. It’s the Tigers first win over the Bulldogs inside the EOAC. In fact, the Bulldogs have won the last 11 meetings between the two teams. The Tigers shook off those demons though with a 43-31 win.

The Tigers were led by Isabella Poppelriter who scored 12 points on the night. Kaylee Rawson, Sam Drysdale, and Amiyah Powell each contributed 6 points.

East Palestine was led by Leila Martin with 15 points. Jasmine Ludt had a solid night as well and contributed 9 points.

Wellsville can get the most wins their program has had since the 2015-2016 season on Thursday at Lisbon. East Palestine will look to bounce back Thursday as they travel to United.

 

POLAND SECURES TOP SPOT IN NE8

CANFIELD OH- First place was on the line on Monday night as it always seems to be when South Range meets with Poland.  The Bulldogs escaped a fourth quarter rally to win 35-34.

The Raiders jumped out in front early, going up 4-0 in their first couple of possessions. Katie McDonald stemmed the tide for Poland though scoring their first six points. McDonald would finish with 8. The 2nd quarter was an offensive stand still as the two teams combined for 6 points. Poland went into halftime with a 16-12 lead. They’d balloon that lead to as much as 27-17 in the 3rd quarter. The Raiders weren’t done yet though, they came storming back in the fourth quarter to make a game of it. Lexi Giles hit a pair of free throws to make it a 35-34 Poland lead with 5.5 to go. Poland would miss the following free throw, but the Raiders couldn’t get a look at the game winning shot.

Mary Brant led the Bulldogs with 12 points. Abby Farber contributed 7, including an important three pointer in the 3rd frame that seemed to give Poland’s offense some flow.

Lexi Giles finished with a game-high 18 points to lead the Raiders. Hannah Heikkinen was very important in the Raiders comeback scoring all 6 of her points in the final frame. Emma Cunningham hit the only three of the game for the Raiders.

The two teams will meet again on January 24th in Poland. They both hope that their spots in the league will stay where they are now. There’s a lot of basketball before then though, Poland will stay on the road to face Girard on Thursday and South Range will stay at home to host Hubbard.

Postgame Interview With Nick Blanch:

 

Postgame Interview With Abby Farber:

WARRIORS HOLD STRONG TO GIVE POLAND THEIR FIRST LOSS

POLAND OH- West Branch controlled the first three quarters of the game Saturday but had to hold on as Poland made a fierce comeback bid. What was a thirteen point lead quickly shrunk to as low as three. The Warriors made enough plays to hold on to a 46-42 win. The Poland girls team came into the day as the only team in the United Way Classic’s 10 year history to be undefeated in the event’s games. They are now 9-1 in 10 seasons competing in the Classic.

Anna Lippiatt led the Warriors with 13 points on the night. Hannah Egli hit some big shots from behind the arc on her way to a 9 point night. Sophie Gregory, and Livvie Showalter both added 8.

Poland was paced by Connie Cougras with 11 points. Morgan Kluchar had a solid night in double figures with 10 points. Katie McDonald chipped in with 6 points.

A big matchup awaits for both teams as West Branch will lock horns with Salem on Wednesday, while Poland travels to South Range on Monday.

RAIDERS KEEP PACE IN NE8

CORTLAND OH- South Range took a three game win streak into Lakeview on Thursday night. They also took their impressive suffocating defense. The Raiders held Lakeview to under 20 points in a 35-16 win. The win keeps the Raiders undefeated inside the league.

Lexi Giles finished with her season high to this point with 20 points. She hit four three pointers. Devin Sauerwein contributed 5 points.

Maggie Pavlansky led the Bulldogs with 6 points on the night.

This sets up a battle for first place in the NE8 on Monday as Poland travels to South Range. Lakeview will try to bounce back Monday as they travel to Struthers.

BULLDOGS BURST AHEAD IN THE SECOND HALF

POLAND OH- It was a battle between cats and dogs on Thursday night as Struthers invaded Poland for a NE8 matchup. The game was competitive for the first two quarters, with Struthers getting an early lead. Poland would take back the advantage but never pull away in the half. They’d only take a 3 point lead into the locker room 20-17. The Bulldogs then outscored Struthers 31-13 in the next two quarters to roll 51-30.

Poland was led by Connie Cougras who finished the game with 19 points. Mary Brant was also in double figures finishing with 11 points. Sarah Forsyth was able to add 6.

Chloe Neider led Struthers with 11 points. She went 6/7 at the free throw line. Emma Morris contributed 8 points for the Wildcats.

Both teams return to action Saturday as Poland hosts West Branch in the United Way Classic, while Struthers stays on the road and travels to Austintown Fitch.

LAKEVIEW COMPLETES UPSET IN GIRARD

 


By Noah Ricks

GIRARD, OH – Both the Lakeview and Girard girls’ teams started off their Northeast 8 campaigns with a loss, but Lakeview used a strong 14-4 third quarter to help propel them to a 48-44 victory over the Indians.

 

“Girard’s a good team,” said Lakeview coach Kevin Haynie.  “They came in with a nice record. I know they are a little banged up. We had a nice lead, though, in the second half and we just got to learn from that. In this league, any win’s a good win and it does not get any easier.”

 

After Girard controlled the tempo in the first half to hold a 25-23 advantage going into the locker room, the Bulldogs utilized a very good mid-range game with the likes of Maggie Pavlansky and Brooke Schneider. The perfect shooting forms and drives to the basket helped Lakeview build up a 44-34 lead. Girard, however, went on an 8-0 run late in the fourth to bring it within two. Coach Haynie then wanted to remind his girls that they belonged in the moment. 

 

“I told the girls at the timeout, I said, ‘I’m done. You figure it out. You guys, it’s up to you now. You guys have played enough games. Most of you have a ton of varsity experience. It’s time for you to figure this out. I’m done,’ and I did use a timeout, I told them I was not going to use it anymore, so I did tell them I lied, but I was proud of the effort. I wish we could make our foul shots and close out even easier, but, take the win.”

 

Lakeview was a team coming into their game with Girard having only scored 177 points and averaging 35.4 in their first five games. The late second-half push helped push the Bulldogs to their season-high in points scored in a game with 48. Some nice steals in the end and buckets in transition by Schneider helped make that happen. Coach Haynie was extremely pleased to know that Lakeview went well above their season average in this early-season conference matchup.

 

“I know we can shoot the ball, and today, we shot it pretty good, so, I’m glad it’s not 33, because I was looking at the scoreboard, I’m like, ‘Oh, we already beat that 33,’ so I’ll take it.”

 

The Bulldogs will move back to .500 on the year as they improve to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in Northeast 8 play. They will go back to home on Thursday to play defending Northeast 8 champion South Range, a team that only had one conference loss a year ago and also a team that beat Girard 45-36 last Thursday. Coach Haynie is aware of the tough challenge that his team faces on YSN Live.

 

“Well, let me tell you, they are aggressive on defense, they get after it, they have got some scorers. We have got to look at film, we have got to learn. The girls have got to watch film, they have got to invest, that’s one thing we talked about. We said those who invest the most are the last to surrender, and it kind of worked into our favor here at the end. We didn’t give up, so we got the win.”

 

The Indians with the close loss will drop to 3-2 on the year as they remain winless in conference play at 0-2. They will play another home conference game on Thursday as they play host to Jefferson. That game can be streamed on YSN Live.

 

You can watch the full interview with Coach Kevin Haynie and YSN’s Noah Ricks below.

 

 

BULLDOGS NOT PHASED BY NILES

NILES OH- Poland continued their long road trip to open the season Monday night as they traveled to Niles and dominated the Dragons. Holding Niles to just one point in the second frame, Poland took a 38-10 lead into the break. They didn’t look back and rolled 64-22.

Connie Cougras led the Bulldogs with 10 points. It was a Bulldog offense that saw 12 different players get into the stat sheet. Katie McDonald chipped 8 points and Abby Farber added 7.

Niles was led by Abby Reed, and BROOKE Money who both scored 6 points.

Poland will finally have their home opener on Thursday as they host Struthers. Niles stays home on Thursday to host Hubbard.

BEARS PUT PALESTINE IN THE DOG HOUSE

LEETONIA OH- It was a clash of EOAC hopefuls on Monday night in Leetonia as the Bears hosted an East Palestine team that was coming off their first ever league title. The Bears took control early building a 9-1 lead and never looked back. Every time East Palestine would push towards the lead, it seemed the Bears would have an answer. The Leetonia defense eventually halted any come back chances as the Bears dominated the final frame. They would go on to win 40-22.

Ella Gregorino led the Bears with a game-high 22 points. She scored from everywhere on the floor in an impressive performance.

Patience Champney wasn’t afraid to shoot for East Palestine. She led the team with 11 points.

Leetonia returns to action on Thursday as they go on the road to Lisbon.  East Palestine will return home on Thursday to host Southern.

POLAND SENDS A MESSAGE IN THEIR NE8 OPENER

HUBBARD OH- Coming in to this season, a lot of people on the outside were questioning Poland’s ability to stay at the top of the NE8 with the loss of last year’s seniors. Hubbard came in to the NE8 opening night with two big wins feeling ready to take the next step. Poland had other Poland though, as emphatically sent a message to the league that they are still there. They beat Hubbard 53-15.

Leading the Bulldogs was Connie Cougras with 12 points. Both Arianna Daniels, and Ava Nicholudis added an important 7 points. Mary Brant, and Morgan Kluchar chipped in with 6 points.

Poland returns to action on Monday as they’ll stay in the league to travel to Niles. Hubbard will stay in the league as well as they host Struthers on Monday.