GIRLS DIVISION IV Cold shooting dooms Southington

Leetonia reeled off a 20-0 run to end the game, scoring 15 points over about the final 2 minutes.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
LIBERTY -- Leetonia High capitalized on Southington's poor shooting, and got good scoring in the final quarter from Tiffany Smith and Jessica Deville to break open a close game and defeat the Wildcats 45-21 Saturday in a girls Division IV district final at the Liberty High School gym.
Smith, a 5-foot-10 senior, scored 11 of her team-high 15 points in the final quarter, while Deville tallied seven of her 14, to ignite Leetonia from a 22-18 lead after three quarters. The Bears out-scored Southington 23-3 in the final stanza.
Leetonia reeled off a 20-point run to end the game, scoring 15 of the points in a flurry within about the final 2 minutes of play.
Next: Leetonia (18-5) advanced into regional play at Massillon Perry High Thursday at 8 p.m. The Bears' opponent will be the winner of Saturday night's district championship game in Lexington between second-ranked New London (22-0) and Norwalk St. Paul (19-4).
Southington (18-6) made a game of it for three quarters despite its cold shooting, before Leetonia began finding the range in the final period.
"This is about the worst we shot all year," said coach Kevin Byer of the Wildcats, who made only 7-of-52 from the field, including 3-for-10 from 3-point range.
Cold offense: Byer, in his second season after going 9-13 in his debut last year, said his team was unable to penetrate inside, but managed to stay close on outside shooting.
"It's hard to go to the hole because on a zone [defense] they pack the players [back]. When we were shooting well outside, we drew the [defense] out," Byer said.
Coach Jerry Beltempo of Leetonia, in his first year at the helm, said his team's defense was a factor in throttling Southington.
"We increased the intensity on defense and [denied] them the ball [by] interfering with a lot of passes, cutting the passing lanes down," said Beltempo, whose team also struggled offensively with 16-of-44 from the field, but improved their accuracy in the final quarter.
Smith sparkles: Beltempo said Smith was a key player in spearheading the Bears' late charge.
"Smith was a big factor [by] getting key put-backs and rebounds inside and just helping run the show and keeping things under control," said Beltempo.
Smith came up with 14 rebounds while Deville contributed eight. Jackie Durham, a 5-8 junior, added 11 points for Leetonia.
Led the charge: Smith scored six of Leetonia's first eight points of the fourth quarter to help the Bears open a 30-21 advantage, while Southington's only response was Stephanie Hudak's 3-point goal that cut the gap to 25-21.
Then Deville sank a goal and free throw to make it 33-21 with 1:50 remaining.
After that, the Bears were fouled often and responded with eight of their final 12 points from the line, five of them by Smith, to finish the Wildcats.
Jessica Black had eight points to lead Southington, while Hudak had six and Renee Black five. Lindsay Byer had six rebounds.
Fouls are factor: "Foul shots helped them and they hit them," said Byer, noting his players didn't heed him. "I told them not to foul and let them run the score up."
Beltempo said rebounding and quickness also helped his Bears.
"They were shooting baskets that we can get rebounds off of easily. They were shooting [a lot of] air balls," said Beltempo, also pointing out. "They probably weren't as quick as we were."