Bland rescues all-star squad

The Boardman star led the Red team to a 66-65 win.
By MARK W. MILLER
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Amber Bland of Boardman is the player you would want to have as time is running out in a basketball game.
Playing her final game in the Boardman High gymnasium, the outstanding senior put on quite a show Wednesday.
Bland scored 27 points, including the winning free throw with four seconds remaining, as the Red all-star team nipped the White, 66-65.
Bland dazzled the fans at the Mahoning Valley Coaches Association Al Beach Basketball Classic, scoring 13 points in the first half and 14 in the second.
"It was interesting with all of the area's seniors playing together in a game like this," Bland said. "I think about winning whenever I play and want the ball and do whatever it takes to do that."
The Red team, behind 63-61 with less than two minutes to go, had the ball stolen away -- from Bland, no less.
Tied up the game
But the White team missed the shot off that steal, with Bland grabbing the rebound. She quickly drove the length of the floor and made a layup to tie the score at 63 with 1:19 remaining.
"I was a little angry with myself when the ball was stolen, so I got that rebound and took it to the basket," Bland said.
It appeared early in the contest, which was played in 16 minutes halves, that the White team would dominate as it built a 21-10 lead.
But the Red team kept chipping away, with Canfield's Emily Wollet making a basket to tie the score 32-32. Rayen's Taryn Perkins' basket gave Red a 34-32 lead at intermission.
3-point champion
Steffi Graf of Poland fired in a 3-pointer and a free throw to give the Red team a 38-32 lead early in the second half.
The White team went on a 11-0 run to regain the lead 43-38 and pushed that to 57-49 with about seven minutes to go.
The Red team then rallied from a five-point deficit to go ahead 65-63 with 40 seconds left.
Courtney Davidson of Ursuline, who finished with 10 points, made a basket for the White team at the 20-second mark.
"Bland and I are close friends and it was a lot of fun playing against her and all the other seniors," Davidson said. "We never beat Boardman during my career, so I was kind of hoping she would miss those foul shots.
"But she's too good of a basketball player to do that," Davidson said. "Even though she missed the first free throw, I knew she would make the second one."
Other top scorers
Katie Kibby of Crestview and Lena Esmail of Liberty each scored 12 points to lead the White team.
"It was an honor to play well in a game with such great players as Bland and Davidson," said Kibby, a 6-3 center.
Salem High's Alyson Cotter, a 6-0 guard, said, "It was fun to play in a game with some of the area's great players. It was nice that we were able to play so well together."
Both teams hit on 28 of 65 field goals. The Red team canned 4 of 8 foul shots and the White team 3 of 7.