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Girard’s Saxon approaches 400 victories
By BOB ETTINGER
GIRARD
Into his 33rd season, Girard girls basketball coach Andy Saxon is as passionate as ever on the sideline, even as he starts the cycle all over again with a young group of Indians.
“It gets frustrating,” Saxon said Monday after Girard’s 39-23 win over Hubbard. “We’re in a rebuilding stage now.
“We had a lot of girls move on,” Saxon said. “I know it will take a couple of years, but at the same time I get frustrated. I’ve got to keep patient.
“I’ve got to keep teaching. We can’t take anything for granted. We have to keep them motivated and working hard.”
The Indians‘ win gives Saxon 398 victories for his career.
Sophie Griffith led the Indians with nine points and had four rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Lindsay Cave had eight points, five boards and the 10 steals, Samantha Cave had seven points, two assists and three steals.
Marissa Cave had five points, 12 boards and three steals, Girard senior post Olivia Cimiero scored five and Sophia Strollo added four points and 11 rebounds
“We don’t have the skill level yet, but if they keep working, it will improve,” Saxon said. “They’re very coachable. That’s what keeps me going. We have a lot of good girls.
“I have a good staff. I’m fortunate to have what I think is one of the best staffs in Trumbull County. I’ve been at Girard 33 years.
“There are times we’ve had to rebuild. I like the challenge. It feels good to know you’ll be down for a year or two but you’re going to bring them back up. That’s one of the things that keeps me motivated.”
“He motivates me,” Girard senior guard Samantha Cave said. “I want to impress him. He expects a lot out of me. We’ve been playing for him for a long time.”
“He motivates us to do good things,” Ciminero said. “He makes us work hard and when we do work hard, we play well out there.”
Girard (2-3) took an 8-0 over the first six minutes against the Eagles behind a strong defensive showing. The Indians made 13 steals and forced 14 first-period turnovers.
“We couldn’t handle the ball,” Hubbard coach Ray DeLuco said. “I don’t know what we were thinking.
“We had a gameplan,” DeLuco said. “We thought we had them scouted pretty well, but it didn’t go the way we wanted. They have a good press, better than we thought. They’re well-coached. That’s a nice young team. They’re going to be good.”
All told, the Indians’ defense made 24 steals and forced 30 turnovers. Lindsay Cave led the way with 10 steals playing in a way that might be called Saxon’s calling card.
“We’re an aggressive man-to-man team,” Saxon said. “The kids are very well prepared. We drill it into them they have to play hard. It’s a mentality.
“They have to play with intensity and be up in your face. That’s the key to a lot of our victories. They’re knowledgeable. They know teams.
“When we play you, we know what you’re going to do. We just have to execute. Having a good staff helps quite a bit. I have three coaches who could head coaches anywhere. I always say we’ll be more prepared than our opponents.”
That early lead became nearly insurmountable as the Eagles (1-3) became flustered.
“His press rattled our cages,” DeLuco said. “We were scared, nervous. That’s where the turnovers came from. They have a nice press and they ran it well. [Samantha Cave] is a good player. She’s quick.
“They basically took us out of the game. Once [the frustration] got in their heads, it was hard for them to get it out. Once we were down, that played a big role. We got down that quick and we were trying to dig ourselves out of a hole.”