Howland bests rival Harding with star-powered offense
AKRON
The third quarter was a mixed bag of emotions for the Howland High faithful.
Leading 24-18 entering the second half, the Tigers missed their first nine shots and Warren Harding fought back, closing the gap to three at the 4:38 mark.
“That’s what they have to do to beat us,” one Howland fan in the Akron Ellet High School gymnasium said. “Keep us from scoring.”
Whether coach John Diehl heard him or not, he said, “we did have to change our offense after that.”
With more passes, screens and backdoor cuts, the Tigers went on a 10-1 run for the next three minutes that fueled a 58-41 victory in the second round of the Division I sectional tournament.
“We just had to slow down and control ourselves,” said point guard Olivia Nicholas. “We were going 100 miles per hour and we just had to bring ourselves back down and focus.
“We felt really confident [with the cutting offense]. We play really well as a team so I thought we did really well with it.”
It’s safe to say the change was welcomed.
“One of the biggest things coach stressed was making three passes because we’d be wide open,” Taylor Williams said. “Once we started passing we were able to get wide open. We work a lot on give and gos, so I pass it or reverse it and they cut to the basket.”
Williams actually led the team with five assists, Nicholas had four and the Tigers had nine of their 14 in the second half.
“We knew they were going to have a really aggressive defense, so we knew the back cuts were going to be there immediately,” guard Erika Nites said. “We took advantage of it.”
They’re also taking advantage of their age and experience.
The Howland senior class — which includes starters Nites, Nicholas, Williams, Paige Loychik and Natalie Silbaugh — has yet to make it out of the district tournament.
“Being all seniors is definitely an advantage because we have the brains so that’s going to help us throughout the tournament,” Nites said.
Harding coach P.J. Notar saw what they can accomplish on their way to the next round.
“It’s a five-man team,” he said. “They were really patient, they never broke stride and they stayed within themselves and captured the W.”
Williams found Nites under the basket on back-to-back possessions midway through the fourth quarter and a pair of free throws by Nicholas made it 58-39 and Howland’s largest lead of 19 points.
“We may have worn them out a little bit,” Diehl said.
Williams also had a game-high 25 points with 13 rebounds. Nites scored 20 points, which was a season best, and Nicholas had 11.
Anita Brown had 22 points for the Raiders, who finish the season at 12-9. Ten of Brown’s points were in the fourth quarter. Briana McCurdy had eight points and four steals.