Howland holds off Canfield for 50-48 win

By John Kovach

A defensive play by the Tigers’ Megan Long secured the victory in the final seconds.

YOUNGSTOWN — After a timeout with 2.1 seconds left in the game, the Canfield High girls basketball team was throwing the ball into play near its hoop trailing Howland, 50-48, but hoping for a final shot at tying it.

The Cardinals tried to pass the ball in high into the key so that ace Jillian Halfhill could jump up and have a chance to get the ball and take a final short shot at tying the game.

But Halfhill, a 5-foot-6 junior who scored a game-high 30 points, was denied that final chance when Megan Long, a 6-0 senior for the Tigers, stole the ball.

Long’s great final defensive play secured Howland’s win Thursday night in the nightcap of a doubleheader at the Chevrolet Centre. It kept the Tigers undefeated and gave them sole possession of first place in the All-American Conference Red Tier, knocking Canfield into second place.

The Tigers’ offense was led by Kelly Barzak, a 6-1 senior who scored 25 points, including nine in the final quarter.

Canfield outscored Howland 14-5 in the third quarter to make a close game of it down the stretch.

“I told Megan [Long] for her to make a play and steal the ball for us and she made the big play,” said Howland coach John Diehl.

Diehl said that Barzak, who had 10 points in the first period to help Howland take early control, was the difference down the stretch for the Tigers (14-0, 4-0).

“Barzak gave us a height advantage when Anokha Padubidri [5-11 senior for Canfield] hurt her knee and was taken out of the game in the fourth quarter. Barzak is going to score when she gets in the paint,” said Diehl, who also praised guard Abby Nicholas’ ball control and attack.

“[Nicholas] pushed the ball up the court [when] she got four great penetrations in the fourth. She hit Barzak twice and was fouled twice.”

Barzak’s rebound and goal gave Howland a 48-44 lead. Shortly later, Erika Nites’ foul shot made it 49-46 for the Tigers with about 2:40 left. Then Halfhill drove and scored to cut Howland’s lead to 49-48 at 1:00.

But Nicholas’ foul shot with 10.9 seconds left boosted Howland’s lead to 50-48 to set up the final play.

Nicholas also had a great defensive play when she knocked Canfield’s throw-in out of bounds with 2.1 seconds left, setting up Long’s game-winning steal.

Coach Pat Pavlansky of Canfield (9-6, 3-1) said he tried four defenses in the first half but couldn’t stop Howland.

“But in the second half, we went into a man-to-man defense and that slowed them down,” said Pavlansky, who wanted Halfhill to take the final shot.

“We tried to get the ball into Jillian but [the attempt] was just not quite good enough.”

Pavlansky lauded both Halfhill and Barzak. “Jillian and Barzak played wonderful games. Jillian has really been able to take control in a game,” he said.

Halfhill had 10 points in the third quarter to key Canfield’s comeback, and then scored seven of her team’s nine points in the final period. She also finished with three assists.

Howland had a 29-26 rebound advantage with Barzak grabbing seven boards and Padubidri 11 for Canfield. Barzak also had three blocks and Long four steals.

kovach@vindy.com