Mallis shoots Boardman to win

Junior sets school record with eight 3-pointers in 73-30 victory over Massillon Jackson.
BOARDMAN -- Don't think, just shoot.
That was the message Boardman High girls basketball coach Ron Moschella gave Colleen Mallis during halftime of Tuesday's first-round Federal League tournament game.
Mallis took the words of encouragement to heart. The junior put on a 3-point shooting clinic against winless Massillon Jackson (0-16, 0-8), drilling a school-record eight 3s as the Spartans ran away with a 73-30 victory.
"Coach told me at halftime that I had a chance at the record, so I went for it," said Mallis. "I didn't think about it, I just shot. When you think about it, you miss shots like I did a few times."
She didn't miss many.
Big numbers
Mallis was 10-of-19 from the floor, including 8-of-16 on 3-pointers. Her 28 points gave her team-high honors and was just two points shy of the Polar Bears' entire team total.
Mallis broke the single-game 3-point mark that was held by Christine Moschella (1987-91) and Jolene Moschella (1991-95).
"That made it pretty special," said coach Moschella. "What made it better was that the team kind of rallied around her getting the record and were really rooting for her. This team is so unselfish, and they want to see each other succeed."
That team unity is a huge reason for the Spartans' success this season. With the win, Boardman improved to 11-2 overall and 7-1 in the Federal League.
"It's really a team thing this year," said Mallis, who was a junior varsity point guard last season. "Last year, Amber [Bland] carried us on her shoulders. This year, we have to rely on everybody to be successful.
"We have heart and we hustle. We've beaten teams that are better than us because we just wanted it more. If we want to go past districts we have to beat Hoover, and I think we can do it because we want to really badly."
For the second straight night, no matter how badly Jackson wanted to knock off Boardman, it wasn't going to happen.
Fast start
After beating the Polar Bears 62-30 Monday night in a regular-season game, Boardman again dominated.
The Spartans jumped out to an 11-4 lead on a Mallis jumper with 4:25 left in the first quarter. After extending that advantage to 20-10 by the end of the period, Boardman outscored Jackson 16-4 in the second to surge to a 36-14 lead at intermission. Things got even worse in the second half for the Polar Bears. The Spartans held Jackson to four points in the stanza, while tallying 17 of their own. Heading into the fourth quarter, Boardman led 53-18, setting the stage for Mallis' shooting display in the final eight minutes.
With 5:54 left in the contest, Mallis tied the record with her seventh triple of the night.
, much to the delight of her teammates. Then, at the 3:42 mark, the junior calmly connected from the left wing to set the mark.
"I didn't play much last year," said Mallis. "It's really been fun to play a lot this year and help the team accomplish things. I feel like I'm more a part of the success."
Boardman advanced to the second round of the Federal League tournament on Saturday, when it plays host to Canton GlenOak, which recently handed the Spartans their only league loss.
"We have eight or nine girls that really play hard," said Moschella. "They are really having fun right now and that's what's it's about. We're just looking to step up our game to another level and get ready for the postseason."