Canfield rolls past W. Holmes

By JOE SCALZO

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

BERLIN —Canfield sophomore point guard Jillian Halfhill seems to play beyond her years, which makes sense since she grew up playing against older players in games with her basketball-centered sister, Bryanne, who is two years older.

But that’s only part of the reason.

Halfhill also improved her game by playing with traveling boys teams in middle school, which taught her to play under control at a faster speed.

“It was fun,” she said. “The boys were like, ‘I don’t want to guard the girl.’ ”

Halfhill, who is ranked 58th nationally at her position, isn’t any more enjoyable to guard now.

Against state-ranked Millersburg West Holmes on Monday, she looked like the best player on the floor for stretches of the game, finishing with 16 points, three assists, four steals and just one turnover as the Cardinals won 59-48 in the Classic in the Country at Hiland High School.

“Jill is a big part of the team, a big part of the ‘We factor,’ ” Canfield coach Pat Pavlansky said. “She makes everyone else better and they make her better.”

Halfhill’s stats only tell part of the story. Canfield held a 20-7 edge in points off turnovers and Halfhill’s skill in transition was a big reason for that edge.

“I didn’t expect them to beat us down the floor like that,” West Holmes coach Lisa Patterson said. “I thought we could have done the same thing to them.”

Bryanne Halfhill, who passed the 1,000-point barrier for her career last week, had 20 points and five rebounds for the Cardinals (13-1), who are ranked seventh in the state in Division II and whose only loss came against Boardman. West Holmes (13-3) is 14th in the state in Div. II.

“We’re happy — it’s a quality win,” Pavlansky said. “They’re a real good team and they deserve the ranking they have.

“I think we deserve the rank we have, too.”

Pitt recruit Kate Popovec added 16 points and 13 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end, as the Cardinals held a 37-25 edge on the boards. Melissa West added five points.

Canfield took a 23-10 lead early in the second quarter and led by 8-10 points for most of the contest. The Knights threatened a few times, but they were never able to make Canfield sweat.

“They’re a good team and we knew who their three scorers were,” Patterson said. “We just got in too big of a hole. It’s hard to come back from that.”

Noelle Yoder scored 15 points and Sarah Hammond added 12 points and eight rebounds for West Holmes, which shot 36 percent from the floor and committed 18 turnovers.

“They’re a really good team and we needed to play above everyone else we’d played,” Yoder said. “They deserve a lot of credit.”

The game was big not just because of the opponent, but because it eases the memory of the only other game Canfield played in this tournament — a 45-point loss to South Euclid Regina three years ago. Canfield had three freshman starters in that game.

“We’ve grown up a lot since then,” Pavlansky said.

Because of their talented starting five and their terrific inside-outside game, the Cardinals are a threat to make it to the state tournament later this winter.

They’ll need to shoot better from outside — Canfield made just 3 of 15 3-pointers — but even when those shots aren’t falling, they’re a challenge to play.

“Some people say we go inside too much and some people say we shoot too many 3s,” Pavlansky said. “I think we have a pretty nice mix.”

scalzo@vindy.com