Columbiana halts Lisbon

By Tom Williams

The Clippers handed the Blue Devils their first defeat, 46-38.

LISBON — Well aware of the many contributions Lisbon post player Mindy Jackson has made in the Blue Devils’ 9-0 start, the Columbiana High girls basketball team chose to try and neutralize the 6-foot-1 junior.

Strong defensive efforts on Jackson by Ashley Shea, Irene Coy and Katie Witmer helped the Clippers (8-4, 4-2 Inter Tri-County League Tier One) outscore the Devils 16-8 down the stretch for Monday’s 46-38 victory.

“Columbiana played great,” Lisbon coach Jamie Entriken said. “Defensively, they had the right game plan. We didn’t answer like I would have liked. We had some really costly turnovers down the stretch.”

The win keeps the Clippers in the ITCL race and drops the Blue Devils (9-1, 5-1) into a first-place tie with United (11-1, 5-1) and Crestview (10-2, 5-1).

“The challenge was to contain [Jackson], to limit her points and her ability to score close to the basket,” Columbiana coach Jeff Hammond said.

“Our post [players] had to focus in down there and they did a great job.”

Jackson finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and a block.

“I knew I had to guard her so they couldn’t lob it to her,” said Coy who finished with five points, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals. “We’ve been working really hard and they were on the top. It feels really good to get them.”

The Blue Devils jumped out to big leads to open both halves. The Clippers responded with rallies. Kaylee Couchenour’s first two baskets reduced Lisbon’s first lead to 7-5 and triggered a seesaw battle the rest of the opening half.

Nursing a one-point lead after the break, a 7-0 run gave the Blue Devils a 30-24 edge halfway through the third quarter.

But a 3-pointer by Hayley Goist and three free throws by Amanda Crowl tied the game.

“We figured we would have to kind of weather a storm a little bit,” Hammond said. “We were sagging down so much on Jackson that we knew we were going to give up some outside shots. We were kind of picking our poison and they did hit some shots.”

In the fourth quarter, Jackson’s final free throw reduced Columbiana’s lead to 36-35. But the Clippers scored the next six points on baskets by Witmer and Shea and free throws by Couchenour to pull away.

“It shows we can play with everyone in the league,” said Goist who scored nine points. “Ashley Shea played really hard and made her foul shots at the end. It’s a big win.”

Shea led the Clippers with 10 points and nine rebounds while Couchenour and Goist each scored nine.

“We’re still in the [race],” Hammond said.

“We respected them but we were up for the challenge, and we’re real happy about that.”

For Lisbon, Megan Reynolds scored 10.

“They packed their defense way down inside and we tried to pull them out,” Entriken said of the Clippers. “They refused to come out and that created problems. We spent too much time looking for Mindy rather than attacking the basket.

“They were doubling her up and they actually tripled her up in the first half,” Entriken said. “We hit some big shots out front to put us up.”

Entriken said he’s hoping the loss teaches a lesson.

“I told [my players] that we can learn from it and get better from it,” Entriken said. “If you don’t bring your A game every night, it’s going to be tough.”

williams@vindy.com