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Boardman recovers from slow start to beat Harding
Johnson’s 17 points lead Boardman to win
By Tom Williams
BOARDMAN
The first-half numbers did anything but add up for the Boardman High School girls basketball team earning a 2-0 record for the first time in five seasons.
The Spartans missed eight of their first nine shots, with Lauren Gabriele making their only first-quarter basket.
The Spartans shot 10 percent at the free-throw line.
“Awful,” Boardman head coach Jeff Hammerton said. “Our numbers were awful. We were 1-for-10 at the free-throw line — that is very unlike us. And when you are struggling to score you need to make those free throws.”
Which is exactly what the Spartans did down the stretch in posting Monday’s 33-22 victory over Warren Harding. In the fourth quarter, the Spartans (2-0, 1-0 All-American Conference Red Tier) pulled away from the Raiders (0-1, 0-1) by making 13 of 16 attempts.
“We had 10 points at the half,” Hammerton said of a six-point deficit. “Plus we missed some real easy layups.”
Spartans senior Krista Johnson ignited the comeback, scoring 17 points over the last three quarters.
“Krista Johnson played phenomenal,” Hammerton said. “So did Jenna Vivo and Lauren Pavlansky. She comes off the bench for us and has played [well] for us in the first two games.”
Defensively, the Spartans frustrated the Raiders into 11 second-half turnovers and making just 3-of-23 attempts.
”Our offense started to pick up and we definitely made our free throws,” Johnson said of the turnaround. “We started to figure out their defense, see the openings.
“We just started reading it better.”
The Raiders excelled in the first quarter, opening up an 11-3 lead. Shymara Dykes and Kia Allen each made two baskets while Toni Donaldson made a 3-pointer. Donaldson made another trey in the second quarter as the Raiders took a 16-10 lead into the locker room.
Pavlansky and Johnson sparked the Spartans in the third quarter by each making 3-pointers. Pavlansky made four free throws in the final quarter.
“It feels great,” Pavlansky said of the 2-0 start that includes a victory last week over Ursuline. “This was our goal and it just feels great. We persevered through that first half.”
Pavlansky and Johnson said the Spartans’ goal in the second half was to take away chances for Donaldson while trying to slow Dykes.
“We tried to match up on them and makes someone else step and score,” Johnson said.
In the fourth quarter, Vivo made two free throws to tie the game at 20. Dykes responded with a basket followed by a technical foul for taunting.
Johnson made one of the two technical free throws then Pavlansky made four consecutive free throws for a 25-22 lead.
“We finally went on a run there,” Johnson said. “They were all flustered. Just stay calm, that’s what we had to do.”
Harding head coach Frank Caputo said the game will give him plenty of lessons to teach in practice.
“Some things that worked in scrimmages, they got here and things were a little bit different,” Caputo said of his team’s opener. “Now, we can make the adjustments with them.
“We stalled out on offense. Their pressure gave us a little bit of trouble. And we missed a couple of easy ones. When there is some contact you still have got to make a bucket. And we weren’t just finishing with contact.”
Dykes led the Raiders with 10 points.