Boardman advances in sectional with 55-32 win

The Spartans blew open a close game with a second-half effort over GlenOak.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
ALLIANCE -- Boardman High girls basketball coach Ron Moschella had plenty to say to his players during halftime of Thursday night's Division I sectional final game against GlenOak.
So much so that the team barely made it out of the locker room and on the court in time for GlenOak to take the ball out of bounds to start the third quarter.
"We had a long talk," said Moschella. "It was a little one-sided, but it went pretty well."
The extended pep talk did the trick. After a first half riddled with defensive breakdowns and missed layups, the Spartans settled down in the second half, outscoring the Golden Eagles 28-11 and pulled away for a 55-32 victory.
Canton McKinley next
The win advanced Boardman (15-7) to a district semifinal contest March 2 against Canton McKinley, which defeated Lake in the nightcap on Thursday night at Alliance High School.
"He just told us to pick it up and start to focus," said Boardman sophomore Courtney Schiffauer, who led the Spartans with a game-high 23 points. "We missed a lot of layups and just weren't playing smart.
"We tried to put some new things in and at times we got frustrated. But we just played through it and did better in the second half."
Foul line success
With Boardman struggling to score from the field in the first half, it turned to the free throw line for points. GlenOak was whistled for nine fouls in the first quarter alone and the Spartans took advantage. Ten of Boardman's 27 first-half points came from the line.
The Spartans led by 15 points in the second quarter (25-10), but GlenOak battled back to cut the deficit to just 27-21 at the intermission.
"We were just not happy with our defense in the first half," said Moschella, "and we missed a lot of layups that we just normally don't miss.
"But we made a couple of adjustments and came back to regroup and execute on both offense and defense in the second half."
In foul trouble
Schiffauer had problems of her own, getting into foul trouble in the third quarter. She played the fourth quarter with four fouls and managed to stay in the game without fouling out.
"I just had to play smart with those fouls," she said. "It was frustrating, because I couldn't be as aggressive, but I did what I could to help."
Boardman's defense turned it on in the third period, limiting GlenOak to one field goal and three free throws in the stanza. The Eagles went over seven minutes without a two-pointer.
Despite the tough third quarter, GlenOak again got within 39-30 with 5:24 left in the fourth. But that's when things fell apart. The Spartans sealed the deal with a 16-2 outburst the rest of the way.
Schiffauer paced Boardman with 23 points. April Melquist added 16 markers, while Staci Wahlman came off the bench with nine points.
GlenOak was led by Jasmine Coleman's eight points. The Golden Eagles reserves outscored the starters 18-14.