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Howland defeats Lakeview in rout
By doug Chapin
HOWLAND
When Lakeview High scored its first points of Thursday night’s girls basketball game at Howland, there were two 24s on the scoreboard.
The Bulldogs’ first points — a pair of free throws by Jamie Sentner — came with 24 seconds left in the first quarter. The other 24 was Howland’s score at the time.
The Tigers (3-0) led 25-2 after the first quarter and 47-2 at halftime on the way to a 73-22 rout.
“This was one of those nights when everything we put up went in, every pass we made was perfect,” Howland coach John Diehl said. “And they missed some early shots and everything they did was going wrong.
“They are nowhere near that bad a team and we’re nowhere near as good a team as the first half indicated,” Diehl added. “It was just one of those nights and I’ve been on the other end of that before.”
Taylor Williams led the Tigers with 18 points (on just nine shots) and 13 rebounds. Erika Nites added 17 points, Kaylee Redon had 12 and Olivia Nicholas dished out seven assists.
The Tigers shot 50 percent (29-for-58) for the game and forced 25 Bulldog turnovers.
Ali Gagne had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Lakeview (1-2).
With loads of experience back from a 19-5 squad, plus the addition of Paige Loychick from Champion, the Tigers are expecting big things this season.
With that in mind, Howland loaded up on quality opponents.
“We played Hudson to open the season, we’re going down to the Classic in the Country and we’re playing Harvest Prep there. They are the defending Division IV state champion with everybody back,” Diehl said. “We’re playing Shaker Heights, we’ve got Nordonia and GlenOak on the schedule. We toughened up the non-league schedule and we went out to get quality Division I opponents, especially those that press well.”
He continued, “Our press break has killed us the last two years against Twinsburg, we weren’t able to handle their pressure. This year, we were able to beat Hudson’s press, one of the best in the area, so maybe we’re getting a leg up on that problem that we’ve had.”
Diehl said an easy win like Thursday night will not create a problem of overconfidence.
“I’ve treated the girls rough since the beginning of the season and I let off a little bit the last week, I was nice to them again,” he said. “Now we’ve got a 13-day layoff and I told them that on Monday I’m going to be treating them rough again.
Diehl said that it is his job as the head coach to ensure his players keep their focus and won’t let any single game overshadow another this season.
“A win like this will not get to our girls’ heads, I will not let it get to their heads,” he said.