GIRLS BASKETBALL Boardman repels Hoover to go 4-0

Two free throws each by April Melquist and Amber Bland clinched the win.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NORTH CANTON -- The North Canton Hoover High girls basketball team is in an unfamiliar position. Boardman also finds itself in uncharted territory.
Two free throws by April Melquist and Amber Bland with under 12 seconds remaining Wednesday lifted the Spartans to a 64-60 victory over their Federal League counterparts.
The loss dropped the four-time defending league champions to 2-4 overall but, more importantly, kept them winless in two tries and at the bottom of the league standings.
With the win, the Spartans also find themselves in a place with which they aren't too familiar. The perennial Steel Valley Conference power improved to 4-0 and 2-0 in the Federal to stand alone atop their new league.
Strategy
"We pressed tonight, then got into foul trouble and needed to figure out if we were going to continue to press or fall back," Boardman coach Ron Moschella said.
"It's good to be in a game like this early in the season," he added.
"We have a chance to learn a lot from this outing. I'm just happy we were able to come out of here with a victory."
It looked as though the Spartans would blow the Vikings out early as they scored the first nine points of the game. Behind the strength of Emily Hays' seven points in the quarter, Boardman raced to a 20-6 advantage just eight minutes into the game.
Bland added eight of her game-high 19 points in the second period for the Spartans, but Natasha Holloway scored seven of her 13 in the second frame, with the Vikings outscoring the Spartans 20-14 as Boardman clung to a 34-26 halftime advantage.
Got behind
"We dug a hole early and you just can't do that against a team like Boardman," Hoover coach Paul Wackerly said. "We made some mistakes that were costly, but I cannot fault our effort.
"We hustled and at the end still had a chance to win the game," he added.
"We'll learn from this. I honestly feel we are one of the better 2-4 teams in the state right now, but 0-2 in the league is tough to take."
The Spartans' biggest lead was 16 points, the last time at 51-35 when Hays it a jumper in the lane at the 2:33 mark of the third period. The Vikings then went on a 6-0 run to end the quarter and Boardman had to settle for a 51-41 advantage after three periods.
Sahar Nusseibeh's lay-up at 2:25 of the final quarter cut the Boardman lead to 58-56, but Bland connected from the perimeter with just 41 seconds remaining for a 60-56 Spartan advantage.
Free throws seal it
Nusseibeh's bucket with 19 seconds left cut the Spartan lead to 60-58, but Melquist's and Bland's two free throws each offset a Stephanie Gibson lay-up for the Vikings as Boardman secured the victory.
"Tonight was a real dogfight but once again, we had players who stepped up for us," Moschella said. "Brittany Sirak, Emily Hays, Brittany Durkin and April Melquist are to be commended for their play tonight. I'm proud of our overall effort."
Bland (19) and Hays (13) were the only Spartans in double figures, while the Vikings' Gibson, with 15 points, took team honors for Hoover.
Also scoring in double figures for the Vikings were Holloway (13 points), Nusseibeh (12 points) and Kelly Ann Staudinger (10 points).