Struthers spills No. 2 Southeast

Salem rolled past Hubbard in the girls Division II tournament at Fitch.

By CHUCK HOUSTEAU

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

AUSTINTOWN — The Metro Athletic Conference has proven to be the class of the Division II girls basketball tournament at Fitch High School.

MAC teams Struthers and Salem pulled off a pair of impressive victories Wednesday night and will face off against each other Feb. 21 in the district semifinals.

Struthers (15-6) upset the No. 2-ranked team in the Associated Press Division II state poll, Southeast, 62-55, in the opener and Salem easily turned back Trumbull Athletic Conference opponent Hubbard 51-18 in the nightcap.

No. 1 seed Canfield of the MAC makes its debut in the tournament tonight against Streetsboro.

Struthers used an 18-6 opening quarter to stun the Pirates, who had come into the game undefeated in 21 contests.

“We knew that if we came out hard that we would have a good chance to win,” said Struthers senior Ashley Galbraith who scored 20 points and surpassed the 1,000-point mark in her career.

“People underestimated us because we were the underdog,” Galbraith said. “This just goes to show that anyone can beat anyone on any given night.”

Struthers coach John Grandy was on cloud nine after the Wildcats’ win.

“What a great win for our program,” Grandy said. “I am just impressed with what we were able to accomplish tonight.

“We gave us so much of a height advantage to [Southeast] but to our girls credit they battled to the end.”

Galbraith got the Wildcats going in that impressive first quarter as she scored 10 points in the first eight minutes.

The Pirates showed why they hadn’t lost a single game by roaring back in the second and third quarters behind the strong inside play of Mya Levels and Lindsay Speidel.

Southeast outscored Struthers 17-11 in the second quarter to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 29-25.

In the third period, the Pirates took their first lead at 31-29 before Struthers regrouped and took control of the game.

Senior Halle Minchin-Skook sophomore Dana Mathews each hit 3-point shots in the period to lead the comeback.

Mathews finished with a game high 21 points and was huge in the fourth quarter with eight points. Minchin-Skook added 15 points.

“That was a gutsy performance,” Grandy said. “I’m really proud of my kids.”

Speidel led the Pirates with 21 points while Levels added 19.

In the second game, Salem had little trouble with Hubbard.

The Quakers got 21 points from Brittney Ritchie, including an impressive 15 in the third quarter. Senior Katie Scullion also tallied 13 points in the win.

“I think we were a little sloppy at times, especially in the first half on defense,” said Salem coach Jeff Andres. “But we did a nice job overall.

“We got it done and that’s all that matters in tournament time.”

Salem (16-6), who defeated Struthers twice this season in conference play, will have to again rely on its defense.

The Quakers allowed Hubbard only six points in each quarter and shut out the Eagles in the final period.

Salem got out to a 16-6 lead early behind the hot shooting of Scullion and Kelly Roelen who each drilled a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter. There was no looking back after that.

Hubbard (11-10) was led by Cara Julian who scored 11 points. Michelle Starkey grabbed a team high five rebounds.