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Kline’s performance critical for Newton Falls
By BRIAN DZENIS
As Gabby Kline expanded her game, Newton Fall’s fortunes also grew.
The senior is listed on the girls basketball team’s roster as a forward, but she doesn’t just stand under the basket.
The 6-foot-1 Kline can step out and hit 3-pointers. She can do it all for Newton Falls (24-1), which is coming off its first district title.
The Tigers will make their first regional appearance tonight against Doylestown Chippewa at Cuyahoga Falls High School.
”She’s been our nucleus,” Newton Falls coach Mark Baker said. “She’s been our go-to person all-year long and the thing that I’m particularly happy about with her right now is the latter half of the year, she’s stepped up and been a good leader for us.
“She’s been a vocal leader. She’s been a cheerleader when she needs to be a cheerleader. She’s been the person that builds people’s confidence up. She’s really done a nice job with the younger girls on our team.”
According to Baker, Kline has been a consistent 20 points and 10 rebounds all season. Even when faced with a defensive struggle, such as the team’s 32-28 district title win against Brookfield last Saturday, she finds a way to get it done. She scored 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds against the Warriors.
“This beats any of my personal accomplishments, none of those mean anything to me without this,” Kline said while clutching the district title plaque on Saturday. “This is by far my No. 1 accomplishment that I’ve got.”
High praise, considering her achievements. Kline is the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder with close to 1,400 points, Baker said. As a sophomore, when she was almost exclusively playing under the basket, she set a record for rebounds in a game with 19.
“She played under the basket because of the personnel that we had and after her sophomore season,” Baker said. “We thought ‘now is the time to add more dimensions to our game,’” Baker said. “She worked really hard in her junior year and now we have the advantage of playing her inside and outside.
“When teams schemed to double team her, us being able to move her away from the basket makes her a lot more difficult to account for.”
The addition of the three-point shot made all the difference. In her junior season, she set a new career-high for points with 36 as the Tigers made a district finals appearance that season, which ended in a loss to Garretsville Garfield. She also made the All-American Conference’s First Team and was the AAC’s player of the year. Her achievements also made her a target for college teams. In November, she signed her National Letter of Intent with Division II Ursuline College. She has everything paid for except food and she joins a program that’s received Top 25 votes.
“I really loved their coaches. They treated me well,” Kline said. “The team is No. 1 in their conference and top 25 in the nation so I’ll be going to a great program too.”
Kline’s evolution and success as a player speaks well for Newton Falls, her coach said.
“She’s a huge mark of success for our program,” Baker said. “It shows we’re doing something right with our kids.”
Newton Falls and Doylestown Chippewa tip off at 8 p.m. It’s pretty simple what’s keeping Kline motivated.
“I just really hate to lose, so I do whatever we can to make sure we don’t,” Kline said.