GIRLS BASKETBALL Maplewood runs away late against Sharon

Tigers held 3-point lead in fourth, but were outscored 23-7 down the stretch.
HADLEY -- Although it took 32 minutes to complete the game, it only took the final six minutes to determine the winner in Maplewood High's 60-47 win over Sharon on Saturday in the District 10-AA playoffs.
Leading by three (40-37) two minutes into the final period, Maplewood (17-8) outscored Sharon 23-7 down the stretch.
"We made our own mistakes and with the lead, we turned the ball over at crucial times, especially in the fourth quarter and it ended up costing us the game," said Sharon coach Gene Sarazen.
Sharon (19-5) led 36-33 going into the final period, but during the final eight minutes, it was all Maplewood as it outscored the Tigers 27-11.
"We were out of focus and out of position defensively down the stretch," said Sarazen. "Some of the people weren't guarding the players they were supposed to be guarding and as a result, they [Maplewood] got a lot of easy baskets on the baseline. We are capable of playing much better defense than we did today. We just didn't step up to play tough basketball on the defensive end of the floor, and when you don't do that in the playoffs, you are going home."
Maplewood's Addie Parker led all scorers with 18 points and Kayla Ray added 16. For Sharon, Brittany Csatlos led the way with 15 points, with Nikki Odem chipping in 13.
Kennedy Catholic 63, Conneaut Valley 42
It was evident from the opening tip that Kennedy Catholic wasn't about to take any prisoners in its District 10-A playoff game.
The Golden Eagles soared to a 40-20 halftime lead.
"We have worked extremely hard in the last month on getting the ball up the court as quickly as we can," said Kennedy coach Pat Mastrian. "I think that showed in the last three or four games we played. I challenged them today to run with Hallie [Arena] because if they can run with her, they can run with anyone down the floor."
Giving themselves a lot of easy opportunities on the offensive end by playing tough defense, Kendra Radkowski had things pretty much her own way as she led Kennedy with 21 points in the first half before finishing with 29 for the game.
"Kendra has always been our go-to girl and she had an outstanding game for us today," said Mastrian. "The other girls are learning that they can also get some easy baskets too if I move down the court. I told them that is what we needed to do to start this game and things worked out well for us."
Arena had 10 points for the Golden Eagles. Briana Hamilton led Conneaut Valley with 17 points and Brandi Hamilton added 16.
Hickory 59, General McLane 37
One year ago, the Hickory Hornettes lost a one-point game to Corry in the opening round of the District 10 playoffs. Not about to let history repeat itself, the Hornettes advanced to the second round of the Class AAA tournament with a convincing victory Saturday.
"They knew what happened to us one year ago and that it left a bad taste in our mouths that sort of lingered forever," said Hickory coach Jeanette Whitehead. "It just feels good to get that monkey off our back. It was tough [the loss to Corry], but that is in the past and these kids were very hungry to get back to the tournament and get a win."
The Hornettes got off to a fast start in the game and they never let up. Doubling up on McLane 18-9 in the first quarter, Hickory kept on scoring as they built up the 36-16 lead at halftime.
"When we went in at halftime, I told the girls to remember what happened to us last year and that we needed to go out and play like it was 0-0," said Whitehead.
Deandra Evans scored 23 points for Hickory and pulled down 21 rebounds, giving her 1,006 for her career.
"Many players look to hit 1,000 points, but for her, she was able to hit 1,000 rebounds tonight and that is a remarkable accomplishment," said Whitehead. "Reaching that plateau just shows how much determination she has to play the game."
Courtney Richards added 15 points for Hickory and Chere' Marshall scored 13.
For McLane, Tori Hansen finished with 12 points and Kayle Jeska scored 10.