Improving East wins 4th straight

By Jon Moffett

The Panthers cruised against Chaney, 70-35.

YOUNGSTOWN — Taniesha Franklin said she has seen a noticeable improvement in her East High girls basketball team throughout the past few weeks.

The Panthers (8-4) are on a four-game winning streak, which culminated with a 70-35 victory over rival Chaney High on Wednesday.

Franklin said a victory over powerhouse Warren G. Harding on Tuesday helped give the Panthers more of an attitude on the court.

“The confidence of beating Warren Harding definitely [carried over] to tonight’s game,” she said. “But we’re trying to stay focused because I’m sure going in to Warren Harding, we were the underdogs and nobody expected us to win that game. The same rules apply to them.”

Despite the 59-52 upset earlier in the week, Franklin was able to keep her team focused on the Cowgirls (2-10) and earn another win.

The Panthers started the game with a fast pace, scoring 38 points in the first half while allowing only 15. The team also took advantage of plenty of fouls by the Cowgirls.

East made 10 of 18 free throws in the first half, and 16 of 31 overall.

“It’s a good thing we made them, because throughout the season we’ve been shooting terribly from the free throw line,” Franklin said. “But we have gotten better and I think it has a lot to do with their confidence and we’ve been playing better basketball and they’re more confident.”

Chaney coach Bernard Bohla said he wasn’t concerned with the free throw statistic and was proud of his team as a whole.

Bohla gave the Panthers credit, saying East was a “very good team” who prepared and played hard. He said his team had a specific game plan, but did not execute properly.”

Those who did execute properly were East seniors Reshayla Taylor and Briana Dawson and junior Lesa Monet Oliver.

The girls each had double-digit points and led other statistical categories for the Panthers.

Taylor had a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds. She added five steals and two blocked shots.

Oliver was the second-leading scorrer with 15 points. She also had six rebounds, six steals, two assists and a block.

Dawson had 11 points and five assists, but was most noticeable on defense. She pulled down seven rebounds and blocked seven shots.

Bohla said his team can take the Panthers’ sense of discipline away from the game and use it to its advantage for the rest of the season.

“Sometimes when kids are young and inexperienced and are battling their rival, they get very emotional," he said. “And I think it’s a good thing to experience it the way they did. I wish they would’ve handled certain situations better, but nobody is perfect. We’re just trying to get better every day.”

Leading the Cowgirls was senior Taylor Carter, who finished with 11 points.

Taylor also added six rebounds and a steal.

Franklin said she was surprised by how lopsided the final score was because of the quality players on Chaney’s roster.

“They have a good coach and a lot of talent on that team,” she said. “I guess it was just our attitude and our defensive intensity have been key for us.”

The Panthers will host Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

jmoffett@vindy.com