Defense tells tales for Struthers, Kenston

By John Kovach

Strong defensive play led Struthers past Lakeview and Kenston past Liberty in the girls Division II sectional at Fitch.

AUSTINTOWN — Strong defensive pressure and offensive drives from 5-foot-6 junior guard Dana Mathews go hand-in-hand for the Struthers High girls basketball team.

The Wildcats demonstrated that Thursday night against Lakeview in a first-round Division II sectional tournament game and opener of a doubleheader at the Austintown Fitch gym.

With Struthers’ defense creating the turnovers and offensive opportunities, Mathews excelled during those transitional phases as she came up with the ball and scored a game-high 27 points — many of them on drives to the hoop — to lead the Wildcats to a 63-36 win over the Bulldogs.

The victory advanced Struthers into a sectional final Saturday against Cardinal Mooney at 4 p.m.

In the nightcap, Kenston also used strong defensive pressure to oust Liberty, 51-32 in a sectional final to advance to a district semifinal game on March 5 at 6 p.m. The Bombers will face the winner of Saturday’s other sectional final between Niles and Salem at 1 p.m.

“Our defense is the engine that sets up our game. It gives us more opportunities,” said coach John Grandy of Struthers (16-5), which took control of the game after the teams were tied at 10-10 in the opening period.

“We turned in up on defense. We got a lot of transition and layups and we took away their defense.”

Grandy said that his defense especially suits Mathews because “she is a driver.”

But Mathews, who also had four assists, wasn’t the only standout for Struthers. Katelyn Ardale, a 5-8 sophomore, added 12 points, Sally Phillips had eight rebounds and six points and Ashley Baron six rebounds and four assists.

“But we have a lot of people who can contribute. All of our players are pretty good,” said Grandy.

And, “ We got out there on defense. When we play defense, we are in the game.”

Lakeview (4-17) was led by Mackenzie Palette with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists, but the Bulldogs made only 14-for-45 from the field to Struthers’ 29-for-61.

After the early 10-10 tie, the Wildcats reeled off 10 unanswered points, four each by Mathews and Helen Hird, to take a 20-10 lead in the second period.

Then Mathews added six more points in the second as Struthers padded its lead to 32-17 at the half.

In the third, Mathews and Ardale hit four points each as the Wildcats took a 43-26 advantage into the final period, where Mathews finished with seven points.

Kenston’s defense hurt Liberty. The Leopards held a 24-23 lead early in the third period, but the Bombers (13-8) turned up the defensive pressure and got turnovers and points to steadily pull away to the win.

“We played much better defense in the second half. Our defensive intensity increased,” said Kenston coach Kevin Hinkle. “We switched up our defense to a half-court trap, and we got a couple of tips and steals and easy buckets, and that got us headed in the right direction.”

Melissa Gorup had 12 points while Julia Weilemann and Stephanie Deuly added 10 apiece to lead Kenston, which surged to a 36-27 halftime lead behind Weilemann’s six points.

Then the Bombers scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, nine by Gorup, for a 50-30 lead to seal the verdict.

Ashley Venable managed 13 points to lead Liberty (12-10), which was flat, said coach John Hritz.

“Their defense turned it up and got a lot of fast breaks. We turned the ball over and had things happen,” said Hritz. “They put a lot of pressure on us. Normally we handle it but not tonight.”

kovach@vindy.com