Poland's control too much for Boardman to overcome

January 22, 2017 at 12:09a.m.

Poland vs Boardman

By DAN HINER

POLAND

Solid team defense was key to the Poland High School girls basketball team’s 60-47 victory over Boardman, the Bulldogs’ fourth win in five games.

Poland (12-2) jumped out to a 7-4 lead, but Boardman went on a 7-2 run to take a 11-9 lead with four minutes left in the first.

But Boardman was only ahead for two minutes before Poland jumped back in front and controlled the game the rest of the way.

Boardman (8-6) tried to come back in the second half, but the Bulldogs’ offense kept creating penetration and started to get Boardman into foul trouble.

Boardman forward Lauren Gabriele led the Spartans with 12 points and five rebounds. Forward Alicia Saxton had 11 points and four rebounds.

Boardman head coach Jeff Hammerton said Poland’s defense started to control the tempo of the game midway through the first quarter.

“They jumped out 4-0, and to our credit, we slowed down a little bit and made some nice passes against the press—even took an early lead,” Hammerton said. “I thought we were gonna be able to handle their press all day.

“They kept switching it up—half-court trap, full-court trap—and we got the ball sometimes in some bad spots. Once they get going and they start creating turnovers, they can start scoring points in bunches.”

Poland’s Sarah Bury, Maggie Sebest or Bella Gajdos made plays all afternoon. Someone in that trio was constantly creating a turnover or making a shot to prevent the Spartans from mounting a comeback.

Bury and Gajdos both scored a game-high 14 points, and Sebest had 12 points. Sebest also had a game-high eight steals.

Poland head coach Nick Blanch said trio deserves credit, but in the end, their success was a part of the team’s effort on the defensive end.

“They did a nice job closing in on our traps,” Blanch said. “Even the kids that didn’t get the steal or the block in the stat column were in the right place to cause the next pass [which led to a] steal or get the block on the rotation.

“We did a great job as a unit,” Blanch said.

Hammerton said the Spartans didn’t capitalize on scoring opportunities. He said the game plan was to attack the backside of the Bulldogs defense, but the Spartans couldn’t finish in the paint.

Hammerton said the result of the game wasn’t for a lack of effort or bad play by his players. It was just a game where the players couldn’t make their shots.

“You look up at the scoreboard and you’re down 20 and you say ‘we’re not playing that bad.’ You have good shots; things just aren’t falling,” Hammerton said. “I say this all the time to the girls — layups and free throws.

“They were better than us from the foul line. Tonight, they made their layups and we didn’t.”

Blanch said his team “is coming together” and expects his team to become better as the season progresses.

While the team won, he said there were some things the team needs to improve upon. But he thinks the girls have the drive to become a contender when the playoffs arrive.

“I know we have the potential to have multiple weapons, and we do have multiple weapons, but it’s nice to see it all come to fruition out there on the floor,” Blanch said.