Spartans outlast Cards in overtime
Boardman rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to win 64-59.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANFIELD -- Early in the third quarter, just after his team had taken an 11-point lead over Boardman, Canfield High girls basketball coach Pat Pavlansky gathered his players together during a timeout and said, "You've played a good three minutes and 13 seconds in the second half. That's all it means. You've got to keep going."
Little did he know, that was the high point for the Cardinals Sunday.
Boardman coach Ron Moschella, who had called the timeout, was furious at that moment. His team was missing shots, missing free throws, making poor decisions and not playing the type of defense he knew it could.
"I challenged them to come back," he said. "And they did. And they didn't try to get it all at once. They chipped away at it."
Boardman switched from a variety of zones to a man-to-man defense -- "I think it took them out of their game," Moschella said -- and finished the quarter on a 14-4 run.
Once the Spartans got back in the game, they stayed in it, battling to a tie at the end of regulation, then pulling away in overtime for a 64-59 victory in the regular season finale for both teams.
Stepping up
And with Boardman's best player, junior Courtney Schiffauer, still battling the flu, Spartan senior Staci Wahlman, along with freshmen Darryce Moore and Doriyon Glass, stepped up with big games.
"It was exciting," said Wahlman, who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. "Down 11, we could have packed it in and gone home. But we came back."
The fourth quarter ended with a flurry. With a minute left and the score tied at 51, Glass (playing just her third varsity game after missing most of the season with an ACL injury) made two free throws to give Boardman a two-point lead. After a miss by Canfield, Glass missed the front end of a one-and-one, then Canfield freshman Jillian Halfhill pulled up for a jumper to tie it at 53 with 35 seconds left.
No one scored again, as Moore misfired inside and the teams traded turnovers in the closing seconds.
Canfield trailed 61-59 with less than minute left in overtime, but the Cardinals couldn't rebound a miss by Moore inside. Wahlman got the rebound, found Schiffauer inside, who made the shot and was fouled with 20 seconds left to put the game away. She made the free throw and finished 3-for-3 from the line in overtime.
"The key for us was that Schiffauer hit every foul shot," said Moschella, whose team had almost lost to Rayen Saturday after shooting 7-of-18 at the line in the fourth quarter of that game.
Leaders
Moore added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Boardman, which made 17-of-28 from the line (compared to 9-of-16 for Canfield).
Schiffauer, who played only the second half against Rayen, finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for the Spartans (17-3), who are seeded second in the Division I tournament at Alliance and will play Fitch Tuesday. Moschella turned down a bye in order to give Glass another varsity game.
Glass had 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals off the bench and showed glimpses of her potential.
"She played pretty well, considering this was her sixth day of basketball," said Moschella of Glass.
The win ended a good weekend for Boardman, trying to shake off a 73-42 loss to North Canton Hoover Feb. 10.
"This really pumps us up for the tournament," said Wahlman. "We had heard all season how good Canfield was, so we were excited to play them."
Not enough
Canfield junior Kate Popovec had game-highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out with 20 seconds left in the game. Junior Bryanne Halfhill may have played even better, scoring 12 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Her younger sister, Jillian, added 19 points and six rebounds for the Cardinals (17-3), who shared the Metro Athletic Conference title with Howland.
Canfield is seeded third in the tournament. If both teams win out, they would meet in the district final.
"I thought they [Canfield] played hard and they've really improved this season," said Moschella. "I feel bad that someone had to lose."
scalzo@vindy.com