Spartans win big, get their rematch

By TOM WILLIAMS

williams@vindy.com

ALLIANCE

Not long after the Boardman High girls basketball team thrashed Massillon 71-43, Spartans senior recruit Darryce Moore was asked what a rematch with Canton McKinley would mean.

“Words can’t explain how much we want McKinley,” said Moore who scored 24 points and made nine rebounds and two blocks in Boardman’s Division I district semifinal romp on Wednesday at Alliance High. “It’s going to be a battle, that’s all I’ve got to say.”

Saturday, Boardman (19-4) will take on Canton McKinley (19-2) for the third time this season.

Their second game — a 54-49 McKinley win in the Federal League tournament championship game on Feb. 13 — plus a 62-54 loss to Canfield on Feb. 18 has the Spartans motivated.

“After that Canfield loss, we came together and said ‘we’re done losing,’ ” Moore said.

The Spartans will have their hands full as the Lady Pups ousted East, 84-39, in the other district semifinal.

Against Massillon, the Spartans jumped out to an 11-0 lead, with Moore scoring the first six points.

A pair of 3-pointers by Brooke Meenachan right before halftime gave Boardman a 35-12 lead.

“I don’t think we could have played any better,” said Moore of the first half.

Boardman Ron Moschella credited the strong performance to how focused his team has been since the Canfield loss.

“I’ve got a bunch of characters on my team, and this is the first week that I’ve seen them so focused,” Moschella said. “Normally when I talk, sometimes they make fun of me.

“But this week, there were no jokes,” Moschella said. “It was all focus. I even tried to get them to loosen up. We had a four-hour practice one day and you could have heard a pin drop because they hung on to every word the coaches said.

“I was really shocked because normally they like to split me up, make me laugh,” Moschella said.

Senior guard Monica Touvelle, whose 13 points included three 3-pointers, said, “We really wanted another chance at McKinley.”

Asked if Moschella has been focusing on the two February losses, Touvelle laughed.

“He has,” the YSU recruit said. “[Moore] did fantastic tonight. She got her positioning, took her time on her foul shots and layups, and she was really smart about her fouls.”

Asked if the Spartans displayed any faults, Touvelle said, “In the second half, we could have come out a little more intense on the defensive end.”

East coach Taniesha Franklin said the tide turned against her Panthers in the second quarter when the Lady Pups outscored them 20-5 for a 36-14 lead.

“Their pressure defense was just too much,” Franklin said.

Coming four days after the Panthers’ first Div. I tournament win, Franklin called the loss “bittersweet” for her seniors — Briana Dawson, Bethany Hines, Alex Hines and Reshayla Taylor.

“That was not as talented of a group as I have had,” Franklin said, citing the hard work her players displayed from the time they were freshmen.

“They dedicated themselves,” Franklin said. “I’m sad to see them go, but I am so proud of how far they’ve come.”

Dawson led the Panthers with 10 points. Bethany Hines sank three 3-pointers for nine.

McKinley sophomore guard Ameryst Alston led the Lady Pups with 21 points. Laniesha Lennon scored 14 and Sydnee Penn 12.

Of the Boardman rematch, McKinley coach Pamela Davis said, “Both of us are going to try to play chess and have some strategic moves. It’s going to be high intensity, [very] emotional.”

Davis sees the game being one of contrasts.

“We’re going to try and push up-tempo and go 94 feet,” Davis said. “They are more successful when they can pack in their zone and slow down the game. They are very patiently offensively.”