Canfield's closing run nets a victory

By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
Vindicator Correspondent
CANFIELD -- The Canfield Cardinals closed out the final 3 minutes, 35 seconds on a 9-0 run to defeat the Rayen School Tigers, 44-37, in a girls non-conference matchup at Canfield Thursday night.
The Cardinals (4-3) trailed 37-35 after Rayen's Tiedra Jones scored with 3:35 remaining before Canfield began its late rally.
Bryanne Halfhill, who scored 15 points, knocked down back-to-back baskets, the second a 3-pointer that gave the Cardinals a 40-37 lead.
Canfield's leading scorer Kate Popovec, who tallied 17 points, then connected on a put-back layup and seconds later a free throw to give the Cardinals a six-point lead with 39.4 seconds remaining.
Popovec closed out the scoring with another free throw with 27.5 seconds remaining.
"I'm very proud of our kids because Rayen's a very good team," said Canfield coach Pat Pavlansky. "We knew they would come in here and be ready to play.
"The best thing about tonight's game is that we played tougher as the game went along and we made better adjustments as the game went on."
Bitter taste following a loss
The Cardinals were returning to the court just one night after losing a close contest to one of the best teams in the area -- Ursuline -- Wednesday night.
"I was so glad we were playing again so soon after last night," Pavlansky said. "These kids are fighters and tough competitors.
"We're young so the more we play we learn and getting a win makes it even better."
Rayen (4-3) provided Canfield with an especially tough test with their speed and athleticism and the game reflected that through the first three quarters.
The Tigers raced out to an early 6-0 lead but Canfield countered by scoring 13 consecutive points and took a 13-9 lead after one quarter.
Rayen, who was led by Jones' 18 points, rallied to regain control in the second quarter and cut the Cardinals' lead to 23-20 at halftime.
The teams played evenly in the second half before Canfield closed out the game strong to grab the win.
Rayen struggled with shooting
"That was our game to win," said first-year Rayen coach Taniesha Franklin. "The game plan was to play good defense but offensively it wasn't a good shooting night for us."
The Tigers struggled in the last three minutes to make shots and that aided in Canfield's late rally.
"We took good shots and made the baskets early," Franklin said. "But when we really needed the shots to fall we didn't get the job done."
Pavlansky said that the contest was a battle of momentum.
"It was a game of runs all night," Pavlansky said. "They never gave up and we never gave up.
"It was a good hard-fought game and fortunately we made the last run."