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Canfield’s new-look defense stuns Rockets at D2 sectional
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Sarah Vrabel (23) of Canfield tries to get drive around Streetsboro defender Shania William (10) during a Division II first-round sectional basketball game Wednesday at Austintown Fitch High School. The Cardinals slipped past the Rockets, 36-27.
Niles overwhelmed by undefeated Ravenna
AUSTINTOWN
On each of Streetsboro‘s first four possessions in its Division II first-round sectional game basketball against Canfield, the Rockets turned the ball over.
Rachel Tinkey and Allison Pavlansky had steals, the defense forced a bad pass and a five-second violation.
The Cardinals trapped the first pass made to the wing which put Streetsboro in rushed, uncomfortable positions.
“That’s really not even our style,” said Canfield coach Pat Pavlansky.
But it was that aggressive defense early on that paced the Cardinals to a 36-27 victory at Austintown Fitch.
Streetsboro coach Allison Carey scouted Canfield multiple times in preparation, but was caught off guard by the traps.
“We didn’t see it coming,” she said. “Whenever you have more turnovers than points in the first quarter, you know it’s not going to be an easy night.”
The Rockets (4-17) turned the ball over nine times in the opening quarter and scored just four points.
“It was more our nerves,” Carey said. “We were excited and anxious and that cost us.”
The Cardinals (14-7) led by as many as 11 and took a 19-12 lead into the locker room at halftime. It was now Carey’s turn to amp up her defense.
And it worked.
The Rockets applied more pressure to the Canfield front court and played tougher man-to-man. The Cardinals were just 2-for-19 shooting from the field in the third quarter.
“We missed some easy peeks,” Pavlansky said. “We were completely out of our rhythm and we weren’t taking shots we normally take and that’s because of the adjustments they made on us.
“They were able to stick it to us in the third.”
But by way of some more nerves on the Streetsboro end, the Cardinals racked up the steals with nine alone in the third.
“That was our only option,” Sabrina Mangapora said “Bad shooting happens and when things aren’t going so well offensively, you have no choice to pick it up on defense and I think we did.”
Mangapora had five steals, herself, and seven other Canfield players forced at least one turnover.
After Streetsboro’s Shannon Blondeaux knocked down a 3-pointer with 4:13 remaining, Colleen Rimmel stole the ball from Mangapora underneath the Cardinals’ basket. She dribbled up court and sunk an open 3 that cut the Canfield lead to just three, 28-25, with 3:42 left.
However, two field goals and three foul shots from Mangapora, along with a Tinkey free throw, put the game away down the stretch.
Mangapora finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, as Allison Pavlansky had four points and three steals. Tinkey added three points, as Abby Baker and Kayla Barko each scored four.
Rachel Kolke led the Rockers with 11 points.
“It was a close game and that’s what tournament time is all about,” Mangapora said. “We’ll be back in a good way.”
The fourth seeded Cardinals get that chance on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against Southeast, the eight seed.
RAVENNA 62, NILES 17
The second game began with three steals and seven points for Ravenna in just the first 35 seconds.
And it snowballed from there.
The No. 1 seeded Ravens (22-0) led 21-6 after the first quarter and 45-9 at halftime en route.
Malorie Gibson and Holly Plaso led with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Both underclassmen came off the bench for Ravenna.
Megan Morris and Katrina Harris each had four points for the Dragons (3-18).