McKinley defense too much for Spartans

December 19, 2010 at 12:08a.m.

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Boardman

Amanda Volosin said she was a little bruised and battered after a Boardman High basketball game against Canton McKinley.

Just another day in the Federal League.

Volosin and the Spartans played a physical, dogfight of a contest against the Bulldogs. But it was McKinley who walked away as 72-37 winners Saturday.

“I’m a little beat up, but it’s kind of to be expected in a sport like basketball,” Volosin said.

The competition didn’t help either.

Volsosin, a scrappy senior point guard for the Spartans, spent almost as much time on the floor fighting for the ball as she did upright. She said McKinley is a good team and acts as a good measuring stick for her and her teammates to use.

“Obviously, we knew they were a good team because of what they did last year,” Volosin said of the defending Division I state champions. “So basically, we just wanted to go in as hard as we could and leave it all on the floor. That was basically our philosophy for this game.”

The Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 Federal League) use a stout defense and put a lot of pressure on opposing guards. Boardman coach Ron Moschella said McKinley does a good job of forcing teams to take shots outside of their base offenses.

“They’re an excellent basketball team, very well-disciplined and their defense sets the pace for everything,” Moschella said.

That defensive presence was evident early.

The Spartans (1-3, 0-2 Federal League) struggled to find any offensive rhythm. The team committed several turnovers and found themselves looking at a 12-2 deficit early in the first quarter.

Three times during the game, and twice during the opening quarter, the Spartans failed to even get the ball in bounds because of the pressure. The Bulldogs also disrupted several passes and allowed only eight points in each of the first two quarters. McKinley took a 36-16 lead into the locker rooms at the half.

Boardman’s defense limited McKinley to 14 third-quarter points, but had to play catch-up the rest of the way. Leading scorer Kayleigh Lipke, a senior, had 10 points.

Moschella said the lopsided final scored tells only half of the story. The Spartans had several good defensive stands, but allowed the Bulldogs to come up with second, and sometimes third chances.

“We played great defense, and then they got second and third shots when we broke down,” he said. “I counted 12 second and third shots. That’s 24 points. So that’s pretty good defensively, but we have to handle the pressure better.”

Volosin said the team got used to the pressure later on but by then it was too late.

“At first, I think we were a little caught off guard,” she said. “We started figuring it out at the end as everyone started handling the pressure as we got more and more used to it. We got more confidant and stronger with the ball. I thought by the end, we were handling it a lot better.”

McKinley coach Pam Davis, a graduate of Austintown Fitch High, said the defensive pressure is something she’s had with her program since she arrived.

“Our trademark, if you will, is pressure 94 feet. We want to really dictate the tempo end line to end line,” she said.

“We want to make the ball handlers put the ball on the ground and not allow them to see and start their offense.”

Moschella said he was proud of his team, which played a lot of younger girls late, and is excited for the rest of the year.

“We’re a work in progress,” he said.