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In Div. IV, Lowellville, Sebring win
Taylor Hvisdak had the night’s high of 20 points in leading Lowellville (17-4).
HUBBARD — Lowellville’s girls sailed through their Division IV sectional opener against Jackson-Milton, 55-38, while Sebring needed a second-half awakening before disposing of Lordstown, 42-30, Monday night at Hubbard High School.
Taylor Hvisdak had the night’s high of 20 points in leading Lowellville (17-4), which benefited from nine 3-point goals. Hvisdak had four of those.
Sebring made a 19-point turnaround in the second half after trailing by seven in the second quarter.
Maggie Householder’s 13 points paced the Trojans (10-11).
Lowellville will face the JFK-Southern winner on Saturday at 4 p.m., while Sebring is paired against Leetonia at 2 p.m.
Lowellville beat Jackson-Milton twice previously — 59-30 on Jan. 21 and 66-30 on Feb. 11 — so Monday’s outcome wasn’t a surprise.
“I was happy with our patience on offense,” Lowellville coach Tony Matisi. “We’re usually not that patient. Our girls really took their time and worked the ball and got the best shot available and squared up well.”
Having played the Bluejays twice during the year, Lowellville knew what it was going to do, defensively, so it planned accordingly.
“Our defense starts us,” Matisi said. “We played good solid man and it allows us a cushion if we make mistakes offensively.”
Matisi said that the Rockets usually take more 3-point attempts than twos.
Emily Carlson added 11 points for the Rockets, who lost to JFK over the Christmas break, but beat Southern twice in ITCL Tier Two games.
Alyssa Chine had 13 points for Jackson-Milton (0-21).
“Our girls were down and could have stopped, but they didn’t,” Bluejays coach Melanie Hulett said. “I wish Lowellville the best.”
Lordstown (11-9) had either a meltdown or a freeze in the third quarter after leading by 16-9 late in the second quarter.
Once the Trojans came alive Lordstown was out of the picture.
Sebring outscored Lordstown 31-13 in the second half, including 10-2 in the third quarter.
“Our girls took pride in their defense in the second half,” Sebring coach Sam Mathias said. “I told our kids that [holding Lordstown to] 17 points in the first half isn’t a bad effort, but we had to attack the basket in the second half.”
By continuing its good defensive play and adding more offense, the Trojans found themselves in good shape as the second half progressed.
“I told our girls that we had to attack [Lordstown’s defense]. You can’t win if you don’t shoot.”
Mathias said that Jill Bragg’s 11 rebounds and 10 points were crucial to Sebring’s victory.
“She was frustrated in the first half because her shots weren’t falling, but she wasn’t going to be denied in the second half.”
Bragg drew an applause from Sebring fans late in the game when she controlled a defensive rebound and dribbled over the mid-court line before passing off.
It showed their appreciation for a player not known for finesse as much as her rugged play inside.
Lordstown coach Pat Keney said that his girls couldn’t get anything going starting in the third quarter.
“Sebring came out in the third and did a better job than we didn’t. It was like turning off a switch,” he said of Lordstown’s poor second half.
Brianna Blodgett led the Red Devils with 12 points.
Lordstown beat Sebring on Dec. 29, 49-34.
bassetti@vindy.com