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Boardman loses to Louisville in Division I tourney opener
By Tom Williams
ALLIANCE
In Ron Moschella’s first 29 seasons as head coach of the Boardman High girls basketball team, the Spartans won every tournament opener, mostly because they were heavy favorites.
Saturday’s Division I tournament opener at Alliance High had a twist — Moschella’s eighth-seeded Spartans played the underdog role against third-seeded Louisville. And David threw a real scare into Goliath.
Rallying from a seven-point deficit at halftime, the Spartans sliced the Leopards’ lead down to one point three times in the fourth quarter.
But the Northeastern Buckeye Conference champions prevailed in the final minute, with Mackenzie Storlie making three free throws and Alyssa Jones one in Louisville’s 51-48 victory that brought Boardman’s season to an abrupt halt.
“I’m sad that the season ended today,” said Spartans senior Kayleigh Lipke who scored eight points and overcame early foul trouble to help scare the Leopards (19-2). “I really felt that we were coming together, I felt that we had the momentum.”
Senior Brooke Meenachan led the Spartans (9-12) with 19 points. Amanda Volosin hit three 3-pointers for nine points while Allison Borts had eight.
Jones led the Leopards with 16 points, followed by Brianna Libertore with 12 and Lauren Bricker with 10.
With three fouls in the third quarter, Meenachan and Lipke still played aggressively, with Meenachan scoring nine points and Lipke contributing four rebounds and four points.
“They knew they were in foul trouble, I didn’t like the way they got them,” Moschella said of his senior leaders. “But Louisville did a nice job.”
In the fourth quarter, a Volosin 3-pointer and Lipke’s bucket cut the Leopards’ advantage to 43-42 with four minutes remaining.
After Borts scored from underneath, freshman Jenna Kuczek stole the ball, was fouled and made two free throws for a 47-46 score with 1:50 to go.
But Meenachan was called for a charge, then took her fifth foul with 25 seconds to go. Still, the Spartans weren’t finished as Missy DeMarinis made a layup with 17 seconds remaining for a 49-48 score.
The Spartans’ desperation heave at the buzzer sailed wide to end the season.
“They played hard, it came down to a play here or a play there and we didn’t come up with it,” Moschella said. “It’s hard to see the seniors go, especially when they came together as a team.
“We were playing pretty good basketball, I thought we had our chances to get through this again.”
Since Alliance began hosting the Div. I tournament in 2000, the Spartans have qualified for district each time until now and had played in nine championship games. Twice — in 2005 and 2008 — the Spartans went on to play in state semifinal games.
“We started out slow,” Lipke said of the Spartans’ season. “We weren’t together as a team, but as the year went on we learned how to play together.”