Tag Archive for: Featured

GARFIELD MAKES ADJUSTMENTS AGAINST CHAMPION

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WARREN OH- The first time Garfield and Champion met this season, the G-Men had to dodge a mighty upset bid.  Champion scored 19 points in the third and pushed Garfield to the edge, even though they won the game, the Flashes made them sweat it out.  On Monday when the two teams met again in Champion, Garfield would not let the team in purple gain momentum. They hit cruise control on their way to a 53-38 win.

Mandy Cardinal was the pace setter for Garfield with 15 points on the night. She wasn’t the only one that got in to double figures as Laura McCoy and Madeline Shirkey both scored 12.  Zoey May added 6 points to the Garfield offense.

Bella Meyer put together a great night as always for Champion. She finished with a game-high 17 points for the Flashes.  Kayla Haynie worked her way to 8 points while Addie Warzala finished with 7.

Garfield is still tied in first place at the top of the MVAC, and they’ll try to keep that up on Thursday as they host Liberty.  Champion will try to put it together on Thursday as they host Campbell.

BADGER JUST KEEPS WINNING

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KINSMAN, OHIO. It was another night of girls basketball as the Badger Braves took on the visiting Maplewood Rockets. The Rockets were an outnumbered team that continued to fight the whole game with just a total of five players listed on their roster.

The exhaustion soon caught up with the Rockets as Katie Grexa had another productive night with 21 points and 11 rebounds. The Braves defensive side did a lot of productive work as well as Hannah Betts and Gabby Miller combined for 11 steals as the Braves came out with the win tonight 48-28.

The Braves win streak reaches 12 in a row now as they will take on the Windham Bombers at home on Wednesday.

*Contributed By YSN’s Matt Morrison

POLAND MAKES THE PLAYS DOWN THE STRETCH

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POLAND OH- A new week brought a new challenge for Poland in conference play. A hungry South Range team came to town hoping to make some noise in the second half of conference play.  The last time the two teams played, the Bulldogs used a 13-0 second quarter to run away to a 21 point victory.  This time around the Raiders tried their best to win with a strong defensive effort, and it definitely was working.  After one quarter of play Poland only had 4 points. The thing about getting into a defensive battle with Poland though, they can give it as much as they can take it.  The score after the first frame was 4-3.  Offense went a little faster in the second quarter with Poland taking a 15-12 lead into the break.  The Bulldogs tried to push forward out of halftime. They came out on a tear.  They opened the 2nd half on a 10-0 and extended their lead to 25-12.  But South Range had a counter punch ready as they fought and clawed their way back to make it 27-24 before the end of the frame.  Poland would bounce right back though and keep the Raiders at bay down the stretch. The game came down to free throws in the final two minutes as the Raiders tried to extend the game. The Bulldogs were up for the task this time around though going 7/10 in the fourth from the line. Poland held on to win 41-31.

No one got in to double figures for Poland, but Ariana Daniels set the tone by scoring the first 4 points of the game and leading the way with 9 total. Mary Brant and Sarah Forsyth both finished with 8 points for Poland.  Elliana Thompson had a couple of timely shots and contributed 6.

South Range was led by Emma Cunningham who gave everything she had to the Raiders.  She finished in double figures with a game-high 12.  Taylor McClish was also in double figures for the Raiders as she finished with 10.  Gwen Lowry put in a solid night as well chipping in 7 points.

Poland will hit the road on Thursday as they trek to Jefferson.  South Range will also be on the road trying to bounce back against Niles.

BLUE DEVILS WINNING STREAK MOVES TO 6

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BERLIN CENTER, OH- The Western Reserve Blue Devils hosted the Lowellville Rockets in MVAC play on Monday night. The Blue Devils got off to a slow start, but a second half push increased the winning streak to 6 games.

The Lowellville defense came up big time with a 3-2 zone in the first quarter. The Rockets held the Blue Devils to just 5 points after one quarter, leading 9-5. WR made an adjustment out of the timeout, outscoring the Rockets 18-3 in the second quarter to lead 23-12 at the break.

The Blue Devils came out of the locker room and outscored Lowellville 19-6, taking a 42-18 lead after three quarters. The Blue Devils glided to victory by a final of 54-25. The Blue Devils are now 12-4, keeping the winning streak alive at 6 in a row. Lowellville is now 7-9 on the season.

LEADERS:

Western Reserve-

Angelina Cappabianca: 12 points

Brooke Schantz, Linny Jones: 9 points

Lowellville

Serinna Tych- 10 points

ARCHBISHOP HOBAN GIRLS BASKETBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 1) WITH PAMELA DAVIS

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AKRON OH- A heartfelt welcome to the Archbishop Hoban Knights to the YSN family! In our first ever Coach’s Corner from Hoban we hear from girls hoops head coach Pamela Davis.  Davis has ties to the valley as an Austintown Fitch and has taken the lessons learned with her on a fabulous coaching journey that has seen over 600 wins.  In her fourth season at Hoban she has the Knights sitting at 10-7.  They have won their first two games as members of the YSN family over Lutheran East and Notre Dame Academy out of Kentucky.  Now they look ahead to senior night on Thursday where they’ll honor their three seniors and take on Akron Ellet.

Coach Davis took the time to sit down with YSN’s Anthony Hartwig to introduce us to their program. They talk about some of the big contributors to their team this season, what Hoban teaches their athletes off the court, and much more.  Check out Episode 1 of Coach’s Corner with Pamela Davis.

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BRAVES SHINE THE BRIGHTEST ON THE BIG STAGE

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CLEVELAND,OHIO- The Badger Lady Braves took on the Heartland Christian Lady Lions in the Rocket Mortgage Field House. The Braves took off immediately as they were led by Katie Grexa, who dropped 20 points.

The Braves kept  the lions in control with their tough defensive play. Addison Thompson had impressive play coming off of the bench for the Brave as she added 8 points and the Braves went on to win 48-14.

The Braves win streak reaches to 11 in a row as they look to continue that streak when they take on the Maplewood Rockets on Monday.

*Contributed By YSN’s Matt Morrison

GAULT GIVES LIONS DRAMATIC WIN IN CLEVELAND

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CLEVELAND, OHIO- What a game it was that took place in the Rocket Mortgage Field House as the Badger Braves took on the Heartland Christian Lions.

In what was a back and forth game, the Lions kept up with the Braves as Drew Gault was the leading man for the Lions with 19 points. Gault also had help from Jake Walker who put up 15 points. Duncan Moy went off for the Braves with 23 points and Brad Hamliton added another 14 points but it was not enough as Duncan Moy missed the final shot of the game and the Braves fell to the Lions 51-50.

The Braves will try to regroup and figure things out when they take on the Windham Bombers at home on Wednesday. The Heartland Christian Lions will take on the Academy for Urban Scholars on Tuesday.

*Contributed By YSN’s Matt Morrison  

POLAND GIRLS BASKETBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 3) WITH NICK BLANCH

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POLAND OH- We are gliding down the final stretch of the basketball season, and here’s a news flash, Poland is right in the thick of relevancy on the girls side.  After tons of questions on what the Bulldogs would look like without the players they graduated a year ago, Poland is still sitting on top of the NE8.  It hasn’t been without adversity though. As head coach Nick Blanch says in this interview, it’s a long basketball season.  If anyone thinks they are going to get through it without some dips, they are going to be shocked.  Poland saw Girard give them their first conference loss of the season, and just their third conference loss as a member of the NE8.  The Bulldogs didn’t sulk in despair however, they got right back on the horse and started winning again.

Coach Blanch took the time to check in with us ahead of a big week of conference games. He talks with Anthony Hartwig about bouncing back from the loss, the process of tournament voting during the season, and much more.  Check out Episode 3 of Coach’s Corner with Nick Blanch only on YSN.

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WEST BRANCH ADDS ON ANOTHER WIN

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Youngstown OH- The West Branch Lady Warriors added another win to their record by beating Cardinal Mooney 58-40 last night. They have now one two straight and are looking to carry that momentum throughout the rest of the season. 

 

The Warriors got off to a fast start as they led 22-6 after the first quarter. It looked like West Branch would run away with the game, but Mooney stepped up in a big way. The Cardinals held West Branch to just eight second quarter points. The offense picked up as well as it was only an eight point game at the half. Coach Deshields must have said something at the half that clicked because the Warriors came out firing on all cylinders. Mooney had a nice 4th quarter comeback attempt, but the Warrior lead was just too big.

 

Sophie Gregory led all scorers with 18 points for the Warriors. Cami Campbell contributed 8 points and Hannah Egli had 7. Ten Warrior players were able to score a basket in the game, which speaks to how good they were offensively. Coach Deshields’ game plan was to use the Warriors height advantage to create offense in the paint.

 

Mooney was led by Maria Fire who netted 13 points on the night. Samantha Rotunno chipped in 9 points. Finally, Katie Frommelt and Sophia Diorio were both able to add 7 for the Cardinals. 

 

With the win, West Branch improves to 6-10 on the season. The Warriors have a tough non-conference game on Monday as they welcome 13-2 Rootstown to Beloit. Mooney will be back in action on Wednesday for a conference matchup against Youngstown East.

*Contributed By YSN’s Michael Ginocchi

JACEY IS MUST SEE

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NEW MIDDLETOWN OH- Springfield girls basketball is right in the middle of a program turnaround.  In 2014, the Tigers had 21 wins, but from then until last season they never had more than 13 wins.  However that all changed last season when the Tigers went for 21 wins, and got themselves a District Championship trophy.  One of the big reasons for the turnaround on the floor is the emergence of senior Jacey Mullen.  Over the last two season in particular, Mullens has become one of the most feared players in the area.  As a player what makes her the most lethal is her ability to dominate inside, and also play on the perimeter.  That versatility makes it simple for head coach John Matisi to game plan against the opponent’s weakness.  When she is going good, Jacey is near impossible to stop. She has a size and strength advantage over nearly everyone that tries to defend her.

Jacey is averaging 17 points per game this season for the Tigers which is the most on the team. But it goes beyond scoring, because Mullen averages a double double with 11 rebounds per contest as well.  6.6 of the those rebounds come on the offensive side giving the Tigers multiple opportunities to score.  She also averages 2.5 assists per game proving that she can make that extra pass to an open shooter.

Mullen took the time to sit down with YSN’s Anthony Hartwig this week to talk about the growth of her career. She talks about the program’s turnaround, her ability to gain confidence as a leader, and much more. Check out the latest Springfield Girls Basketball Player Profile only on YSN.