Howland’s senior Erika Nites tops 1,000 for career

January 13, 2012 at 12:05a.m.

HOWLAND

Howland High senior Erika Nites surpassed 1,000 points for her career in Thursday’s 55-17 romp over Austintown Fitch.

Nites stole the ball and dribbled in for a lay-up to boost the Tigers’ lead to 15-2 in the first quarter. The game was stopped for a brief ceremony to celebrate her milestone.

At halftime, Nites had scored 11 points, including the game’s only 3-pointer. She finished with 16 points while Olivia Nicholas netted 15.

Senior Taylor Williams also scored 11 points in the first half for the Tigers (10-1, 5-0 All-American Conference American Division).

Howland coach John Diehl said the seniors are setting the tone for the team’s success.

“The seniors work real hard in practice, and I think the younger kids see that effort they put into practice,” Diehl said. “The younger kids see that players can work together and what it takes to be successful.”

With Howland leading 3-2, the Tigers were off to the races, scoring 20 unanswered points.

Maura Bianco’s field goal was the only other time Falcons (6-4, 2-3) put the ball in the hoop in the first half as the tigers led, 33-4.

Howland senior Olivia Nicholas tallied eight points for the Tigers.

But a dominating defensive effort was turned in Williams, who pulled down a game 19 rebounds and blocked 13 shots, while scoring 11 points in the game.

As team, Howland out-rebounded Fitch 45-25.

Sefcik led the Falcons in scoring with six points, while Thompson added three points.

Diehl said a key to the Tiger’s success was senior Paige Loychick’s defense on Megan Sefcik, the Falcons’ top offensive threat.

“It was a tough game,” Austintown coach Stacey Cepin said. “We were in a funk tonight we just couldn’t get out of.

“We know what to do next time. We need to go back to the drawing board and learn from this game.”