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Canfield girls go down with a fight
Gallery
By Joe Scalzo
BARBERTON — For three quarters Tuesday night, a 5-foot-6 magician from Canfield named Jillian Halfhill ignored the numbness in her right hand, the weariness in her legs and the odds that were stacked against her — and her team — and decided she wasn’t ready for her season to end.
The junior made off-balance jumpers, one-handed scoop shots, floaters and, just before the clock ran out at the end of the third quarter, a 3-pointer that gave the Cardinals the briefest of leads — and the slimmest of hope — that maybe they could pull it off, after all.
Then fatigue set in, followed by frustration and reality as the much bigger Canton South Wildcats pulled away for a 52-44 win in a Division II regional semifinal girls basketball game at Barberton High School.
“In the third quarter, I just thought, ‘OK, we can’t lose this game,’ ” said Halfhill, a Bowling Green recruit who finished with 25 points. “I didn’t want to be done yet.”
Halfhill’s brilliance began late in the first quarter and continued for 20 minutes, as she scored 19 straight Canfield points and 25 of 27 over the middle two periods to keep the Cardinals in a game they had no business winning.
“Jillian can keep you in a ball game when the stats are totally against you,” said Canfield coach Pat Pavlansky. “We were in it at the end of three because she scored so many points and just sort of willed us to that.
“That’s a testament to her and how good of a player she is.”
South coach Kevin Meers watched Halfhill’s 14-point third quarter with a mixture of frustration and appreciation. (More of the first one than the last.)
“That was pretty amazing,” he said. “The thing about her is, if you double her, she’s gonna find somebody to shoot a 3. If you play her straight up, she’ll take you off the dribble. And if you back up a little bit, she’ll pull up at the top of the key.
“She’s frustrating.”
Halfhill’s final points came on a bucket early in the fourth quarter that gave Canfield (16-9) its last lead, 35-34.
Canton South (24-1) responded with a 13-0 run that put the game away, with junior standout Shavon Robinson making a dagger 3-pointer toward the end of that stretch that bounced around the rim before finally falling in.
“I think we were a little bit worn out, trying to focus,” said Halfhill, who’s been bothered all season by a bump on her right hand that affects the feeling in her palm. “We’re not used to playing from behind in the fourth quarter.”
Although Canfield played its typically strong defense — the Wildcats shot just 20-of-56 from the floor — South’s offensive balance and its considerable size difference proved too much to overcome.
The Wildcats’ five best players are all 5-foot-8 or taller and have the strength to play much bigger. South held a 47-25 edge on the boards, including 27 offensive rebounds.
“We haven’t been outrebounded like that in a long time,” said Pavlansky. “Their bodies remind me of [Boardman junior Darryce Moore]. They were tough to move.”
Robinson, a Division I prospect, finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for South, which advanced to play Hathaway Brown in Friday’s final.
Alivia Greene added 14 points and Brittany Lyon had 10 points and 12 rebounds for a Wildcat team that won its first league and district titles this season.
Senior Anokha Padubidri had six points and seven rebounds and Cally Wollet added six points for the Cardinals, who were in the regional for the second straight year despite losing three key starters (including Pitt recruit Kate Popovec) to graduation.
“I think we surprised everyone,” said Halfhill. “I’m really proud of everyone on this team. We’ve come so far.”