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Williams nets 22 points in Howland win
By GREg Gulas
UNIONTOWN
Vulnerability to Twinsburg’s pressure defense has stopped the Howland High girls basketball team’s tournament runs the past two seasons.
The Tigers’ offseason work on opponent pressure paid off Saturday during their 74-52 season-opening win over Hudson High in the eight-team Green High Quaker Steak & Lube Turkey Tip-Off Classic at Lake High School.
Taylor Williams had a game-high 22 points and Paige Loychik added 18 markers to lead four Tigers in double figures.
“We went out of our way to schedule a quality opponent and I must admit, I was really concerned about Hudson High going into the game,” Howland coach John Diehl said. “They returned three starters and are excellent with defensive pressure so this was a real challenge for us in the first game of the season.
The Explorers raced to the early 7-4 advantage at the midway point of the opening period, but four points by Williams helped the Tigers close with a 7-0 run of their own.
Williams scored eight of her team’s 16 points in the second frame, including two of her game-high four three-point conversions as Howland built a 27-21 lead at intermission.
“We talked at halftime that this would be a game of runs and to be honest, Paige’s three-pointer at the buzzer at the end of the third period gave us a real lift,” Diehl said. “We hit some key free throws when we needed to and the play of Taylor Williams at both ends of the court was outstanding as well.”
Howland connected on five buckets from beyond the arc and added five more three-point plays for a total of 10 “three-point” opportunities or 30 of their 74 overall points.
“I’ve been coaching for 26 years and I don’t think that I have ever been involved in game where we converted that many three-point chances,” Diehl said.
The Tigers outscored the Explorers, 19-16 in the third period for a 46-37 edge, going on an 11-2 run to close the session after Hudson had knotted the game at 35-all.
“We came out with a lot of determination with our focus on [Hudson’s] defensive pressure,” Williams said. “Our coaching staff has really worked hard with us on breaking the opponents’ press during the preseason. Tonight, that hard work paid off.”
Howland closed the game with a 39-17 run. A three-point bucket from mid-court by Loychik as time expired in the third period was key.
Erika Nites added 10 of her 14 points in the final quarter.