A (new) league of their own

By Joe Scalzo

Howland claimed the first AAC Red Tier title with a dramatic 39-37 win over Salem.

SALEM — Howland’s extraordinary freshman found herself in an extraordinary position in an extraordinary game — under the hoop, ball in her hands, the game (and the league title) on the line.

But in the closing seconds of Wednesday’s showdown against Salem, Taylor Williams wasn’t thinking about any of that.

“All that was going through my mind was rebound, put it up, rebound put it up,” said Williams. “I was just hoping for it to go in.”

The team had battled to a 37-37 tie through nearly six periods and the game seemed destined for triple overtime.

Howland coach John Diehl had called a timeout with 6.9 seconds left to set up a play for Williams. Her first shot missed, then her rebound putback missed — both bouncing around the rim — and after a short tie-up with two seconds left,

Williams grabbed the ball, threw it toward the hoop and ... heard a whistle.

The official held up his arm, the shot fell through the hoop and the official threw his arm down as the buzzer went off.

The shot counted, the free throw disappeared and the Tigers clinched outright the first All-American Conference Red Tier title with a 39-37 double overtime victory.

“I was jumping up and down and I looked over and Coach [Diehl] was ... fanatic,” Williams said. “I was so excited and I kept looking at the scoreboard waiting for them to add it, to be like, ‘It actually happened. It was real.’”

Afterward, Diehl joked that the game wasn’t quite as good as last year’s Division I regional final against Boardman — a game he lost in OT, by the way — and admitted he felt Salem might come away with the win.

“We were very, very lucky to win tonight,” said Diehl. “I really thought Salem was due. It’s been close down here the last four years and I thought it was their turn tonight.

“Thank goodness it wasn’t.”

Williams — the younger sister of Alexa Williams, Howland’s best player last season — finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers (18-0, 7-0), who are ranked seventh in Ohio in Div. I.

Williams also did a solid job guarding Salem junior Amy Scullion in the second half and in overtime.

Senior Megan Long, meanwhile, held Scullion to two points in the first half and finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Scullion finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds senior Brittney Ritchie added 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Quakers (13-4, 5-3), ranked 12th in Div. II.

Salem outplayed the Tigers in the second half after falling behind 19-9 at halftime, due in no small part to getting blanked in the second quarter.

“At halftime, I told the girls that we were in the same position [on Jan. 31] against Canfield and we came back to win that one,” said Quakers coach Jeff Andres. “I’m extremely proud of my kids. In the second half, they got after it.

“I just go back to that goose egg in the second quarter. You can’t do that in a game of this magnitude. That definitely hurt.”

With the win, Howland kept a streak alive. Whenever the school’s eighth graders win a league title, the seniors have always done the same.

“I kind of put some pressure on the seniors a little bit,” said Diehl.

And that last shot gave Williams a little bit of redemption. She missed four free throws in the fourth quarter that could have closed the game out.

But she kept her composure, along with the rest of her team. The Tigers had built-in excuses — senior Kelly Barzak was hampered by a high ankle sprain and senior guard Abby Nicholas fouled out in the first overtime — but they found a way to win.

“All that was running through my head was, ‘We can do it,’” said Williams. “We’ve got a great team and we can rely on everyone else.

“I was thinking, ‘If anything happens, I’ve got someone to back me up.’”

Added Diehl, “I’m glad she came back with that basket. She’s a freshman and it’s a good lesson to learn — never give up no matter how things are going.”

scalzo@vindy.com