Lake streaks in fourth to down Fitch

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(11) Megan Sefcik of Fitch looks to pass as (11) Miranda Diesz plays defense during their game Thursday night in Austintown.

By Tom Williams williams@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

Jumping out to a six-point lead late in the third quarter against a Federal League opponent shows some of the strides that the Fitch High girls basketball team has made this season.

In eight seasons in the Federal, the Falcons have two wins. One came in December, a 45-42 victory over Massillon Jackson.

But the Falcons are still looking for that third Federal triumph as the Uniontown Lake Blue Streaks roared back with a 28-14 run down the stretch for Thursday’s 59-51 victory.

“We fell apart and it took a lot for us to get back together,” said Falcons senior Erica Braxton who contributed 12 points, nine rebounds, three steals and a block. “We’ve got to learn from our mistakes. We’ve got to keep going forward to get better.”

Freshman Megan Sefcik also scored 12 points while Anissa Hill had 11.

“Sefcik is one of the best we’ve seen all season,” Lake assistant coach Scott Cassidy said. “We wanted to make sure we limited her touches and she still scored on us.

“That’s probably our best win of the season,” Cassidy said.

In the fourth quarter, Samantha Marland’s steal, dribble the length of the court and lay-up put the Blue Streaks (7-4, 2-2) ahead, 44-39. Baseline jump shots by Kristen Conti and McKenna Stephens extended the lead to 48-41.

“There were a couple of plays that turned it around for Lake,” Fitch coach Stacie Cepin said. “We started off very well and we had control most of the game.

“But we made some still turnovers early, had a couple of missed blockouts and that kind of gave them opportunities to stay within our reach,” Cepin said. “They took advantage of it at the right time.”

Early on, the Falcons (6-4, 1-3 Federal) had the Blue Streaks chasing with strong 3-point shooting. Marissa Mattozzi connected for two while Sefcik and Hill made one apiece as the Falcons led 24-23 at halftime.

Another 3-pointer by Sefcik plus a Braxton bucket from underneath helped put Fitch ahead, 37-31. Then the Blue Streaks went on a tear.

Stephens and Conti each scored seven points in the final quarter when Blue Streaks sank nine of 12 free throws. A 12-0 run that began late in the third quarter put Lake in control.

With time running down, Braxton scored from underneath to slice Lake’s lead to 56-51. The Falcons attempted two 3-pointers late that missed their mark.

“One more three would have given us a little bit more of a chance,” Cepin said adding that the difference “was earlier on, when they made that run and we had to play catch-up.”

Stephens led all scorers with 17 points. Conti finished with 16.

“Our kids keep getting better and I’m proud of how far we’ve come,” Cepin said. “Good things are coming. We just have to use this as motivation. We have a quick turnaround with a Federal League game [Canton GlenOak] on Saturday at home.

“There’s no time to feel bad about ourselves,” Cepin said. “We have some big-time Federal League games coming up.

“We’re trying to make this [start] the next [big] step in the program and earn some respect in this league,” Cepin said. “We’ve got to go through all of these teams in district [tournament].”

Braxton hopes another big win is on the way.

“It’s a tough loss but we’re going to keep going,” Braxton said. “This season feels good.”