Galbraith, Mathews key Struthers to 12th victory

The Wildcats’ tenacious defense played a big role in the MAC win over Niles.

By JIM FLICK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

NILES — Struthers burst out to an early lead and put the game away with a 27-point third quarter explosion on the way to a 57-33 victory over Niles, in a Metro Athletic Conference girls game Wednesday.

Ashley Galbraith scored 20 points to lead the Wildcats (12-6, 7-6 MAC), while Dana Mathews added 16. Galbraith’s strong inside play, rebounds and disruption of the Red Dragons on both ends of the court was a key to Struthers’ victory.

After Struthers scored the game’s first point on a free throw, Niles’ Natalie Thomas knocked down the game’s first field goal, a 3-pointer, to give the Red Dragons their only lead of the night, 3-1. Halle Minchin-Shook quickly struck back with a trey to put the Wildcats in front 4-3.

Then the tenacious Struthers defense limited Niles to only one more field goal in the first quarter, while the Wildcats built a 15-5 first quarter lead.

But Niles strengthened its defensive efforts in the second quarter, holding Struthers to only five points in the period while the Red Dragons scored nine points to cut the gap to 20-14 at halftime.

Megan McDermott and Kristina Pallante contributed 3-point shots for Niles in the second quarter.

But after halftime, Struthers erupted from the locker room and outscored Niles 27-7 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach, 47-21, at the three-quarter mark.

Galbraith and Mathews led Struthers’ third-quarter outburst. Galbraith tallied 12 points after halftime, and Mathews poured in nine points in the second half. Struthers’ Sally Phillips knocked down all four of her field goals in the second half.

“I challenged them at halftime,” Struthers coach John Grandy said. “I challenged them to play better defense.”

The third-quarter scoring outburst resulted from his team’s strong defensive effort, he added.

“We’re getting ready for the playoffs,” Grandy said. However, he also pointed out his team will play a make-up game Friday against Columbiana and end its season with a regularly-scheduled game against Campbell Saturday before the tournament begins.

While the loss to Struthers marked the end of Niles’ (6-14, 2-10) regular season, the Red Dragons are scheduled to play Streetsboro Saturday at Fitch High School as part of the OHSAA tournament.

“I’m real happy with the progress of the program,” Niles coach Eric Marino said. “We play in one of the best conferences in the state.”

Marino added the flu bug hit his team early in the week. In fact, the team didn’t practice for two days before the Struthers game because only six players were well enough to suit up.

“I’m not making excuses,” Marino added. “Struthers has some top-quality players.”