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McDonald, J-M clinch 3rd meeting
By CHARLES GROVE
mineral ridge
The top two teams in the Mineral Ridge district are set to do battle Saturday after McDonald defeated Valley Christian 51-45 and Jackson-Milton knocked off Mathews 51-30 to advance to the final.
Valley Christian’s India Snyder gave McDonald fits in the first half of their battle, netting 18 points in the first 16 minutes. The problem for the Eagles was that McDonald allowed just four points from the rest of the team.
“India is a special player who averages 21 points in one of the best conferences in Ohio,” Valley Christian head coach Bill Hoelzel said. “We knew she was going to get hers, but they shut down everybody else and that’s good coaching.”
The Eagles kept it close early in the third quarter but then an 11-3 run, powered by seven points from Samantha Homa in the paint, and the Blue Devils were cruising. McDonald pushed its lead to 14 in the fourth quarter before Valley Christian’s last-minute push got the score within six at the final horn.
McDonald head coach Amy Dolsak praised her team’s execution of their fundamental-based offense and how well her team dominated at the basket.
“We really preach the fundamentals with our girls and we told them those would be important especially come tournament time,” Dolsak said. “They want this [district] so badly and they’re going to do whatever they need to get the job done.”
Snyder finished with 27 points while McDonald was led by Homa’s 20 points and Sara Joseph’s 11.
In the nightcap, top-seeded Jackson-Milton squared off against eighth-seeded Mathews which defeated seventh-seeded Warren JFK and fifth-seeded Wellsville to advance to districts. The Mustangs gave Jackson-Milton a game early, trailing the Bluejays 11-10 early in the second quarter, but everything afterward went Jackson-Milton’s way.
The Bluejays ended the half on a 16-1 run and while the Mustangs were no victims of a blowout in the second half, Jackson-Milton was never threatened and glided into the district final against McDonald.
Mathews head coach Joe Bornemiss said the strength of Jackson-Milton was the difference between the two teams. The Bluejays’ pressure defense made that point clear as they ripped the ball away from Mustang guards throughout the night, leading to easy baskets in transition.
“That’s a strong team,” Bornemiss said. “They’ve got a lot of girls that you can tell work out in the weight room and that was the difference. They got after it and we didn’t have an answer for them.
“We told them all week if you don’t turn the ball over as much as we did against them in the regular season, chances are we’d be in the game, but once you throw the ball away three or four times it goes from a one-point game to a 15-point game quickly.”
Jackson-Milton’s strong defense prevented the Mustangs from getting into their offensive sets with any regularity, according to Bornemiss.
“Against a team like [Jackson-Milton] you’ve got to work on getting into offense quickly,” Bornemiss said. “You can’t just go down the court and then get into your offense. It needs to be quick because they’re on you quickly.”
Bluejay head coach Pat Keney said his team did a good job of executing in the halfcourt and slowing the game down to not allow Mathews to run.
“We needed to be patient,” Keney said. “I told them at the end of the game to slow the game down and be patient with the ball. They’re like a bunch of wild horses so I told them to calm down and run the offense.”
Jackson-Milton had four players finish in double figures. Olivia Wolfe had 14 points while Ashley Totani had 13, Michaelina Terranova had 12 and Kaitlyn Totani added 10. Katarina Schubert led Mathews with 11 points and Paige Sponsler had 10.
The wins set up a third meeting between Jackson-Milton and McDonald. The Bluejays won the first two — a 53-46 victory on Jan. 7 and a 47-42 win on Jan. 28.
“We know what we need to do against [Jackson-Milton],” Dolsak said. “The first two times we played them we did not take care of the basketball. That’s the biggest thing for us.”
Another win for Jackson-Milton would be the first district title in girls basketball in school history, and Wolfe — the lone senior on the roster — likes her team’s chances.
“I’m excited for the opportunity,” Wolfe said. “I just want us to play our best. We’ll see how Saturday goes, but I think we can win. I’m pretty confident.”
Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Mineral Ridge.