Tuesday, January 30, 2007
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
LOWELLVILLE -- With the top seed for the tournament secured and a league championship just a couple of wins away, the Lowellville High girls basketball team's focus is now on making freshman point guard Jamie Hynes as comfortable as possible as fast as possible.
Against McDonald (the area's second-best Division IV team) Monday, Hynes, making her second varsity start, found her comfort zone, making seven baskets for 17 points.
Strong inside scoring from junior Ali Grapevine (14 points ) and senior Jacque Schrader (11 points) helped the Rockets record their 10th straight Inter Tri-County League Tier Two victory, 56-32.
"They are the best [small school] team in this area," said McDonald coach Rob Hilbun, whose Blue Devils were regional finalists last season. "They can do it all -- you have to worry about the inside, you have to worry about the outside. They are very deserving of the number-one seed.
"We were in it a couple of times, but great teams put you away, and that's what they did," Hilbun said.
McCarthy is sidelined
Hynes has replaced four-year-starter Kaitlin McCarthy, who is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
"We didn't want to rush her," Lowellville (15-1) coach Tony Matisi said of the former junior varsity player. "Right after Kaitlin got hurt, we played her two or three quarters [a game] just to get her feet wet."
Hynes started well against the Devils, making two 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Rockets jumped ahead, 11-5.
"If they are going to leave three guards open, you've got to hit a shot," Matisi said. "When she hit those 3s, it loosened everybody up, it got us out of a desperate mode."
Grapevine said, "Jamie really has stepped into something that she wasn't used to and it's just important for her to know that she can take the outside shots because we need her to.
"It opens up the whole middle, and it makes it easier for me and everyone else to pass the ball around and get the shots that we need," Grapevine said.
Hynes' biggest contribution came late in the third quarter after the Rockets had opened up a 34-18 lead after a foul shot and basket by Grapevine.
Sparked by Emily Dolsak's basket and two free throws, the Blue Devils (12-4, 6-3) posted a 6-0 run and had momentum.
Hynes keys 7-0 run
Hynes then coolly sank a 3-pointer on the Rockets' next possession to spark a 7-0 run and the Blue Devils did not get to within 15 points the rest of the game.
With four regular-season games remaining, Matisi said the goal is to expose Hynes "to things we're going to see in the tournament, see how she reacts. The reason she is starting is that she's fearless and she's not afraid to make a mistake.
"We know she can handle it," Matisi said. "Before Kaitlin got hurt, we had planned to bring her along."
Whitney Palumbo, another Rockets guard, scored eight points.
Grapevine said being voted top team for the Hubbard district tournament is "a good feeling -- it gets you excited because you know everyone else voted to get you there."
Hilbun's Blue Devils are the second seed.
"What a fantastic job he's done after losing everyone from last year's team except Emily," Matisi said.
Dolsak led McDonald with 18 points and freshman Joh'vonnie Mosley finished with nine points and 14 rebounds.
"She'll be a standout player," Grapevine said of Mosley. "She's really good for just being a freshman coming in."
williams@vindy.com