DIV. IV GIRLS SECTIONAL Sebring, Mathews coast to wins

The Trojans ripped Southern 63-20, while the Mustangs routed Lordstown.
By DOUG CHAPIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HUBBARD -- With the first-round blowouts out of the way, the Division IV girls basketball district tournament at Hubbard High is down to eight teams and hopefully -- for the sake of the fans -- some more competitive games.
The first round ended Wednesday night with Sebring's 63-20 victory over Southern and third-seeded Mathews' 73-27 rout of Lordstown.
In tonight's doubleheader, top-seeded McDonald faces Mineral Ridge at 6, followed by fourth-seeded Youngstown Christian against Lowellville. On Saturday, the other sectional bracket finals will pit second-seeded Columbiana against Sebring at 6, followed by Mathews against Jackson-Milton.
Jumped out early
Mathews (17-4) scored the first 12 points of the game Wednesday against Lordstown (2-18) and coasted, holding leads of 20-4, 41-12 and 59-18 at the quarter stops.
"We think we are peaking at the right time," Mathews coach John Cicero said. "We are kind of the sleeper in this tournament. We keep hearing about the other teams and how good they are, and we're looking forward to playing some of them. We play very well together and we are getting more aggressive."
The Mustangs were led offensively by Sophie Paddock with 17 points, Lauren Roscoe with 16 and Jessie Hall with 11. Paddock, a 6-foot junior, also grabbed 10 rebounds, made eight steals, dished out four assists and blocked three shots. Sophomore 6-footer Allie Stein added seven rebounds and three blocked shots, Roscoe added four assists and guard Sarah King recorded five assists and six steals in addition to demonstrating great court awareness.
Mathews did most of its damage against the Devils with a half-court press and transition offense. Cicero said the Mustangs play best in transition, though they have had to work on the most important part of the fast-break game, rebounding.
"To be succeessful we have to play physical and box out," he said. "We lost six seniors from last year and had just two starters back to start this season, so we were searching for an identity and leadership. We had some trouble with physical opponents early but we've been working on that."
Freshman Whitney Blank led Lordstown in scoring with eight points. Fellow freshman Brianna Blodgett had six points and 12 rebounds, sophomore Heather Wickline had six points and seven rebounds, and Devon Davis, Lordstown's only senior, grabbed nine rebounds and played an aggressive floor game.
Mathews defeated Lordstown twice during the Northeastern Athletic Conference season by scores of 73-19 and 53-27. The Mustangs also played their next opponent, but the outcome was not as positive.
"The saying that we're taking them one at a time is as old as can be, but that's what we are doing," Cicero said. "Jackson-Milton beat us in our third game, so we are focused on them."
Amabeli leads Sebring
In Wednesday's opener, Sebring (8-13) led 19-4, 34-8 and 54-19 at the quarter stops. Ashley Amabeli led Sebring with 21 points. She was aided by Megan Allcorn with 12 and Amanda Rockwell and Chelsea Neeb with 10 points each. Southern (3-18) got nine points from Emily Ramsey.