43
Rockets wallop Blue Jays
By brandon Judeh
North Jackson
The Lowellville High girls basketball team’s performance against Jackson-Milton can be summed up in one word: dominant.
The Rockets walloped the Blue Jays 63-26 Thursday night in an important Inter Tri-County League matchup.
Just two minutes and 30 seconds into the game the Rockets hit their third 3 pointer — two were by Emily Carlson — that led to a 28-2 first quarter thrashing that at one point saw Lowellville go on a 25-0 run.
Lowellville (12-2, 10-0) shot 11 of 15 from the field in the first quarter and had five steals.
Junior Rachel Durbin scored nine of her 12 points in the first; she also finished with a game-high 12 rebounds and five assists.
“When we hit those early 3-pointers that really got us going and got me into the game,” Durbin said. “Our team is very close, we are a family and have known each other for years, and it just makes it that much easier to play.”
After Lowellville’s impressive first quarter, in which it held Jackson-Milton (10-5, 7-3) to 1 of 9 shooting, the Rockets came out in the second quarter focused mainly on the defensive end.
The Rockets held the Blue Jays to just six second-quarter points as Ashley Moore and company continued to apply full-court pressure and control the tempo on offense and defense.
To many people, Lowellville’s high basketball IQ, great passing and court vision is impressive, but to Coach Tony Matisi it is just another day at the office.
“It just doesn’t surprise me anymore to see how court smart they are,” he said. “To someone who is watching them for the first time it has to be great to see, but I see it everyday. They all work so hard.”
Matisi also said his team did an exceptional job of shooting and finding the best shot available, which was opened up by making a couple extra passes.
Led by 6-foot junior Paije Kiraly, Jackson-Milton played well defensively in the second half, holding the Rockets to just 21 points.
“We have to learn from this and work hard on getting ready for our next game,” Bluejays coach Pat Keney said. “We can’t dwell on this. We played a great team tonight.
“Lowellville is the best team in the area. They work hard and they are getting what they deserve, which is a lot of wins and my hat goes off to them.”
Rebecca Jones led the Bluejays with eight points. For Lowellville, Carlson lead all scorers with 15 points and Moore added 10.
With Lowellville recently becoming the first team in Ohio history to have three 1,000 point scorers on one team — Moore, Carlson and Taylor Hvisdak — its team is closer than ever.
“This team is extremely close, they do everything together and are so supportive of each other they always know what the other one is doing 24 hours a day,” said Matisi. “It’s great.”