Hathaway Brown is too tough for Struthers in final

By TOM WILLIAMS

williams@vindy.com

BARBERTON

After facing the buzzsaw that is Hathaway Brown’s defensive pressure, Struthers senior guard Dana Mathews said she’s never faced anything like it.

“Without a doubt, they were the strongest team we’ve faced by far,” Mathews said after the defending state champions defeated Struthers, 63-35 on Friday in the Division II regional final at Barberton High. “They are very strong girls.”

Playing in the regional final for the first time in 30 years, the Wildcats (20-6) stood toe-to-toe with the Blazers (21-4) for about 12 minutes.

Then the Blazers lived up to their name, blitzing the Wildcats for dozens of points off turnovers.

“They are strong girls, they are a good team,” said senior Helen-Marie Hird who led the Wildcats with 14 points.

“I’m so proud of our girls that I am busting at the seam,” Struthers coach John Grandy said. “This isn’t a sad occasion — this is something great that has happened at Struthers.

“I can’t thank those seniors enough for the memories they’ve given me for making this trip twice.”

The Wildcats’ other seniors are Katelyn Opritza, Ashley Baron and Alana Smith.

A 3-pointer by Katelyn Ardale, a basket by Hird and two free throws by Mathews gave the All-American Conference White Tier champions a 7-4 lead four minutes into the game.

But a basket by the Blazers’ Alanna Guy and a free throw by Mylan Woods tied the game at 7-7 when the first quarter ended.

Hird made two steals and scored lay-ups early in the second quarter, tying the game at 13-13. But she quickly picked up her second and third personal fouls as the Blazers seized control, outscoring the Wildcats 13-4 the rest of the second quarter.

“We played well enough in the first half to survive the Struthers crowd,” said Hathaway Brown coach Paul Barlow, referring to the Struthers student section. “Coach Grandy’s team played extremely hard. They gave us everything they wanted in that first half.”

The worst was yet to come as the Blazers’ speed and height advantage helped them outscore the Wildcats 29-8 for a 55-25 lead after the third quarter.

“Maybe we made them angry in the first half,” Grandy said of the second-half spurt.

Guy scored 13 points to lead the Blazers. Also scoring in double digits were Molly Crosby and Sarah Poland with 10 apiece.

Barlow credited the Wildcats for confusing his experienced players.

“They did some things defensively that we hadn’t seen before, that we weren’t ready for” Barlow said. “We needed time to make some adjustments. In the first half they forced a lot of turnovers on us in the backcourt.

“I don’t know that I would say we were surprised,” Barlow said of the 13-13 score. ”We talk about weathering the storm at the beginning of games, especially with the crowd they have ... with a whole town behind them in the building.”

Hird said, “We have a great student section. I am really happy that the student body came out and supported us. We’re a real small school and we stick together.”

Grandy added, “I can’t say enough about Wildcat Nation. They did a great job with the boys [on Wednesday] and then coming here. The community really got behind the girls.”

The Wildcats had dedicated their season to Doris Lancy, their former scorekeeper who died of cancer in 2009.

“As sad as I am right now, this was definitely the best experience of my life,” said Mathews who scored 12 points. “These girls really made it worthwhile and doing everything for Mrs. Lancy made this year so special for me.

“I’ll never forget the friendships.”