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Canfield defenders stifle Lakeview
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Canfi eld’s Kala Barko (12) shoots over Lakeview’s Callie Schmitt (10) during their basketball game Monday at Canfi eld High School gym. The Cardinals downed the Bulldogs, 47-36.
By Brandon Judeh
CANFIELD
The Canfield High girls basketball team’s defense was in midseason form Monday, limiting Lakeview to 13 first-half points.
Canfield coach Pat Pavlansky was pleased.
“They have some really nice players especially Ali Gagne who scored 25 points against us last year,” Pavlansky said. “So we know what she and her teammates are capable of.
“We made sure that we put a ton of pressure on her and kept one-and-a-half girls near her at all times,” Pavlansky said.
Powering the Cardinals offense was 6-foot-1 junior Sabrina Mangapora with 21 points.
Whenever the Cardinals (1-0) were in trouble, they would lob the ball down low to Mangapora.
“I saw a lot of improvement in our team last Wednesday when we had a scrimmage.” Mangapora said. “We kept the same mindset from that game and worked hard in practice and we came in tonight focused and ready to play.”
Ahead 25-13 at halftime, the Cardinals didn’t let up, holding the Bulldogs to three points in the third quarter.
Pavlansky credits his defense for slowing down the Bulldogs.
“We played nice defense in the third and anytime you can hold a team to three points in a quarter, it’s definitely a very nice quarter,” Pavlansky said.
Lakeview, however, did not go quietly. They outscored the Cardinals 20-11 in the fourth quarter.
Leading the way for Lakeview (0-1) was Gagne with 17 points, including two 3-pointers.
In the first quarter, the Bulldogs came out with a full-court press to try and slow down Canfield’s explosive offense. However solid ball movement by Abby Baker, who scored 11 points, and freshman Rachel Tinkey helped the Cardinals break through the press.
Tinkey embraced her role as the floor general by distributing the ball with few mistakes and playing intense defense.
“It was a little intimidating since it was my first game, but I have great teammates and I owe a lot of my success to them,” Tinkey said. “It felt great to get the win out there and get that first game under my belt.”
Pavlansky said there is a lot of room for improvement.
“We need to work on everything, but tonight was our foundation game and we hope that Wednesday night we play even better.” Pavlansky said.