GIRLS DIVISION IV Leetonia's Deville helps guide Bears past Bristol, 47-31

The McDonald-Jackson-Milton game was suspended until Monday.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LIBERTY -- Jessica Deville scored 16 of her game-high 22 points in the second half and the Leetonia High defense held Bristol to just a three-point basket in the final quarter, as the Bears defeated the Panthers, 47-31, in a Division IV sectional final Saturday afternoon at Liberty High School.
In the second game, play between McDonald and Jackson-Milton was halted with 2 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, when the grandfather of a Bluejay player suffered a fatal heart attack. McDonald was leading, 7-6, when play was suspended.
The remainder of the game will be played Monday at 6 p.m.
Back and forth
Deville scored six points in the opening period as the Bears raced to a 12-6 lead after the first eight minutes.
Julie White's four points and a Maegen Bellino bucket from beyond the arc then keyed a 9-0 run by the Panthers to give Bristol a 15-12 lead at the 2:26 mark of the second stanza.
Malorie Valentine then scored her only four points of the game as Leetonia finished with a 5-3 run in the quarter to cut the Panther lead to 18-17 at intermission.
"It was a tough first half for us in that we seemed tentative when shooting the ball," Leetonia coach Jerry Beltempo said. "We wanted some backside looks and that just wasn't happening.
"We did get untracked in the second half, however. We did a much better job of hitting the boards."
Deville's only 3-pointer of the game, at 6:53 of the third quarter, gave the Bears a 20-18 lead, but Bristol's Jennifer White hit a layup to knot the score at 20.
Deville then hit two free throws and a jumper as Leetonia built a 24-20 advantage. The Bears would not trail the rest of the way.
Pulling away
A Sarah Henry jumper at 2:09 of the period cut the Leetonia lead to 28-26, but that was the closest they would get as the Bears closed the third period with a 4-2 run to build a 32-28 lead with just one quarter remaining.
Deville's seven points keyed an 11-0 run to start the final period as Leetonia increased its lead to 43-28.
The Bears outscored the Panthers 15-3 in the quarter.
Leetonia will meet the winner of the McDonald-Jackson-Milton game in the one of the district semifinals Thursday night at Liberty.
The opening game will feature No. 1 seed Lowellville and Mathews at 6 p.m.