Airhart sisters' foul shots enable Howland to fend off Salem, 35-32

The Tigers dealt the Quakers their first loss of the season in a MAC opener.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
SALEM -- After two of the top girls high school basketball teams in the area battled tooth and nail through slumps and comebacks for almost four quarters Wednesday, the outcome of the game was decided by foul shots within about the last minute.
The Airhart sisters -- Melissa and Allie -- combined to make 6-for-6 at the foul line down the stretch -- their only points of the game -- to enable Howland to hold off previously-unbeaten Salem, 35-32, in the Metro Athletic Conference opener for both teams at the Salem High gym.
Melissa Airhart, a senior, made her third and fourth free throws in a row with 28.8 seconds remaining to give Howland a 33-30 lead, and then Allie Airhart, a junior, made a pair with 11.2 seconds remaining to make it 35-32.
"Both are shooting 70 percent from the foul line. That is one aspect of their game that they work hard on in the summer," said Howland (4-1, 1-0 MAC) coach John Diehl, whose Tigers made 13-for-20 from the foul line to Salem's 4-for-6.
Coach Jeff Andres of Salem (4-1, 1-1), whose Quakers had rallied from a 27-17 deficit to tie the score at 27-27 with 6:47 left, said foul shots told the tale.
"They knocked down the foul shots. The Airhart girls knocked down six in a row," said Andres.
Shields, Sabat play well
Ellie Shields, a 6-foot-3 senior, scored 12 points roaming the pivot and Carly Sabat, a 5-6 senior, contributed 11 to lead Howland's scoring, but the Tigers made only 11-for-46 from the field to Salem's 13-for-36. Melissa Airhart had eight rebounds and Sabat five assists.
The Scullion sisters led Salem -- junior Katie Scullion scoring 10 points and freshman Amy Scullion adding eight along with 10 rebounds and four assists. Katie Scullion chipped in with five rebounds.
But after Salem rallied from a 27-17 deficit behind Amy Scullion's two goals, Leah Perry's basket and foul shot and Natalie Davidson's 3-point goal, the Quakers went cold and failed to capitalize on their momentum.
"We were down 27-17. Then we executed and shut down the middle and cleaned the glass and made our shots," said Andres." Then after tying the game at 27-27, [we] missed shots and a chance to take the lead.
"That happens. You miss shots and you make shots. It was unfortunate that they didn't fall."
Howland has 10-point run
Howland used a 10-point run led by Sabat's seven points and Shields' four to take the 27-17 lead late in the third quarter.
"The first two minutes of the third quarter are important," said Diehl. "[We] came out of intermission ready to play. Then [we] went into a drought." But, "We attacked the basket better in the third quarter."
Diehl said he kept the press on too long on defense after taking the 10-point lead.
"The press wears the kids out. We only played seven [main] players. We had a 10-point lead and we stayed with the press too long," said Diehl.
Plus, Shields was getting bottled up in the middle and underneath after scoring eight of her points in the first half.
"They packed it in on our post players. They had three [players] on Ellie. She was [trying] different shots. She was averaging 28 points [coming in]," said Diehl."
But the coach was pleased overall. "It's hard for us to win over here. I thought we played very well and against a very good team," Diehl said.
Down the stretch
After Melissa Airhart made her first two foul shots with 1:16 left, Katie Scullion hit a goal and then a free throw with 46.2 seconds left to cut the deficit to 31-30.
But Shields got the rebound off a Salem miss to set up Melissa Airhart's second pair of foul shots at 28.8.
Then after Zahra Scullion hit a goal at 14.8 to pull Salem within 33-32, Allie Airhart made her pair at 11.2 to seal the outcome.
kovach@vindy.com