Howland disposes of Salem

The Tigers breezed to the district title to gain the Barberton Regional.
AUSTINTOWN -- Howland High capped off its breeze through the Division II district tournament with a 49-30 victory over Salem in the district championship game Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers (19-5) advanced to the regional tournament at Barberton next Tuesday at 8 p.m. against the winner of the Ashtabula district.
Howland put three players in double figures against the Quakers led by Ellie Shields with 15 points, Alexa Williams with 14 and Melissa Airhart with 10.
Salem (18-6) was led by Kelly Roelen with 10 points, including the games only two 3-point goals.
Tigers' defense jells
The Quakers jumped out to an 11-10 first quarter lead before the Tigers defense took over and shut out Salem in the second period, en route to their fourth straight tournament victory
Howland dominated the rebounding by holding a 34-17 advantage as Williams led the way with 11 and Shields added 10.
The Tigers also connected on 21 of 30 free throw attempts and finished with 12 steals and forced 18 turnovers. Airhart led the way with five steals.
In four tournament games at Fitch, Howland allowed just an average of 24 points a game. They defeated Wilson 70-11 in the opener then beat Struthers 66-27 and Liberty 53-28 before Saturday's final.
Division I
ALLIANCE -- North Canton Hoover put on a second-half rally to defeat Canton McKinley 65-48 in the Div. 1 district championship game here.
Hoover trailed 14-11 after the opening period, but outscored the Bulldogs 54-34 over the final three quarters.
Brittany Orban led Hoover with 20 points.
Division III
ANDOVER -- Regina had little trouble winning still another district championship, scoring a 79-39 victory over Villa Angela-St. Joseph in the Div. III district title game Saturday.
Regina had four players in double figures led by Shay Selby with 19 points.
Boys Division III
PAINESVILLE -- LaBrae advanced to the Div. III district tournament with a 65-51 victory over Gilmour Saturday.
The Vikings (19-3) were led by Kyle Rowan with 17 points, while Danny Hartman added 14 and Eric Hart and Mike Ryan followed with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
LaBrae shot 68 percent in the second half and 62 percent for the game from the field, while out-rebounding its opponent 36-32, with Hartman getting 13.
Gilmour was paced by Kevin Komperda with 20 points.
Pennsylvania
In Class A tournament action, Kennedy Catholic was outscored 20-13 in the fourth quarter but hung on to edge Saegertown, 42-41.
In Class AA action, Sharon broke a 36-36 tie by outscoring Lakeview 18-12 down the stretch for a 54-48 victory.