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Baker’s absence doesn’t slow Cards
By Dan Hiner
Canfield
The Canfield girls basketball team needed to rely on the combination of Grace Mangapora and Serena Sammarone to get a win over Poland on Saturday.
Both teams were without their best players because of illness and injury: Poland’s Sarah Bury and Canfield’s Jill Baker.
Sammarone made plays on the defensive side of the court while Mangapora worked inside to get rebounds and second-chance points.
Sammarone led the Cardinals with 16 points, six steals and three rebounds. Mangapora had 15 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and a block.
“You can’t be a team that shoots just 3s or a team that shoots just layups,” Sammarone said. “It’s nice that we have players that can do both — play inside and play out. We all work pretty well together.
“Jill Baker does that well too. That’s what we miss, her rebounding. It’ll be nice to have her back to be able to do all that stuff.”
Canfield head coach Matt Reel called Sammarone “the engine that gets us going.” He said the team needed her to step up in the last two games without Baker.
“[Sammarone] has improved for us every time she gets on the floor,” Reel said. “Sometimes it’s tough for me to remember she’s still a junior.
“She’s a gifted athlete and she’s starting to learn to get in the right spots defensively. Natural talent is coming through and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Defense and bad decisions led to a low scoring first half. Canfield took a 13-11 lead into halftime.
Both teams turned the ball over and made poor passes throughout the first half.
The two teams combined for 20 turnovers in the half, 12 by Poland (7-2) and eight by the Cardinals.
But Canfield (5-2) went on a 10-0 run which crossed over into the fourth quarter to pull away.
Poland cut the lead to 32-30 with four minutes left to play. Kailyn Brown hit a jumper for the Bulldogs and a loose ball foul sent Jackie Grisdale to the free throw line.
Grisdale hit both free throws, but Canfield ended the game on a 7-0 run.
Grisdale led the Bulldogs with 11 points and four rebounds. Brown had seven points and four rebounds.
Poland head coach Nick Blanch said his team will use the games without Bury to help develop the Bulldogs’ depth.
“This is great,” Blanch said. “We’re playing great teams like Canfield and we’re getting out bench more reps than they normally would get, which is only gonna make us a stronger team down the road.
“For us this is another plus. Losing a game in the regular season doesn’t make or break you season unless you let it. And right now we’re not gonna let it. We’re gonna bounce back.”
Sammarone said the team will be confident the next time the Cardinals play Poland since they already beat their rival without one of their best players.
“I guess you could say it’s even. We’re both missing two very good players. So I guess it’s still even in a way,” Sammarone said. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens when they’re healthy.
“But I think we’ll still be able to come out on top considering the performance we had tonight.”