Tigers get 'back on track' with win

Springfield's strong start against Mineral Ridge paved the way to its third win, a 67-51 victory.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- Springfield High reeled off the first 10 points of the game and never looked back, as the Tigers defeated Mineral Ridge 67-51 Monday night in an Inter-County League girls basketball opener.
"We really played well at both ends of the court," said coach Sandi Kohler of Springfield (3-1, 1-0 ICL). "We had plenty of intensity and that is what pleased me the most.
"We know that we have to be good defensively in order to win. We stress defense and focus on the fundamentals and it paid off for us tonight."
Johnson scores 19
Lindsay Johnson keyed Springfield's early run with seven of her game-high 19 points coming in the first quarter. That helped the Tigers to a 17-8 lead after the first eight minutes.
The best Mineral Ridge (3-3, 0-1) could do the rest of the way was get to within seven points at 26-19, that coming when Carrie Wilson made a layup at the 2:59 mark of the second quarter.
The Tigers then went on an 11-1 run before halftime, keyed by four points each from Talley Felger and Sarah Fannon, to take a 37-20 lead at the intermission.
"Give [Springfield] all the credit as [they] really got after it," said Mineral Ridge coach Darren Garris. "We were flat at the outset and stayed flat the whole night.
"Our defense needs to play better if we expect to do anything in the league," he said.
"We cannot afford to miss as many easy shots as we did tonight, either."
Johnson added six points in the third quarter as Springfield increased its lead to 56-30.
Hall gets 11 in finale
Brandy Hall scored 11 of her 13 points for Mineral Ridge in the final period, when the Rams outscored the Tigers, 21-11.
But the points were too little, too late for Garris' squad.
"Our guards were exceptional," Kohler said. "They found the open players all night long.
"We needed to make a run like this in order to get back on track. Last week we didn't play like we are capable of playing, so I am really pleased with our overall effort."
Springfield made 28-of-56 field goal attempts, but struggled at the foul line, sinking only 10-of-21.
The Rams had a hard time finding the range from the floor, making just 20-of-68 tries. But they were 9-for-11 at the foul line.
Mineral Ridge was 2-of-8 on 3-pointers. The Tigers held a 43-35 rebound advantage, with Johnson and Felger hauling in 11 and eight, respectively.