Hunter helps Fitch pull away from Boardman
Hunter helps
Fitch pull away from
Boardman
By GARY HOUSTEAU
BOARDMAN
It took a while for Austintown Fitch to get going, but once the Falcons finally caught and passed Boardman almost half way through the third quarter, they poured it on from the floor and on the glass to defeat the host Spartans 53-41 Wednesday night.
“We didn’t get after it out of the gates and we’re playing our best when we’re intense on the offense and defensive ends and we weren’t there in the first half,” said Fitch head coach Dan Schnurrenberger.
“But I give credit to our girls because they figured it out and they picked it up. They turned it up a notch in the second half, they got after it, and I think that was the difference in the game,”
Fitch sophomore Sabria Hunter scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the second half and added 11 rebounds. Senior Mikaela Hibbs scored all 10 of her points after intermission to help lead the comeback for the Falcons.
“Sabria is special. She works her butt off and all of that starts in practice,” Schnurrenberger said.
“She’s got a very good work ethic, she works so hard in practice every day and obviously that carries over to the games as well. She can score it for us and she can catch and finish them for us. She’s a terrific player.”
Hunter deflected the praise for individual contributions from the floor and on the glass.
“I think we played really good as a team tonight. We worked really hard, that was like one of the hardest games that we worked together. We really just played for each other,” Hunter said. “It was pretty much a team effort. I play for them, they play for us, we all play for each other. But I know that I’m playing for something bigger than myself when I step on the court so that’s what I try to focus on.”
Boardman got off to a quick start as junior Jenna Vivo and Lauren Gabriele each scored five first quarter points as the Spartans led 15-8 after one and then 21-17 at the half.
“I think we executed for the first quarter like we wanted to but you have to give Fitch credit, they knocked down some big shots,” said Boardman head coach Jeff Hammerton. “In the second quarter they started their comeback and we had a bad second quarter, we only scored six points. And in the third quarter we get a quick bucket and then we go about three and half minutes without scoring again. You just can’t have those long spells without scoring against a team like this.”
Fitch led 39-34 after three quarters and then ran the lead up to as much as 14 at 48-34 before the final 12 point margin.
“I got a good group of senior leaders,” Schnurrenberger said. “Allexis Sallee is out with a torn ACL but she’s one of our coaches now. And Natalie Lynn and Mikaela Hibbs, those are great leaders and when you have good leaders on your team it’s hard to stay out of a game for 32 minutes.”
In addition to Hunter’s work on the boards, senior Natalie Lynn added seven rebounds while juniors Camryn Constance and Gina DiFrancesco each grabbed six for the Falcons.
“In the second half our bigs did a good job controlling the boards,” Schnurrenberger said. “Sabria and Natalie, man they work so hard and when the girls have that size and that much strength and have a motor like they do, they’re a tough matchup for some teams.”
Constance and DiFrancesco also added eight points each on the offensive side of the court.
“We are 11-4 now moving forward and we just beat a good basketball team. Coach Hammerton does a great job with those girls and that was a very good win for us.”
Boardman, led by Vivo’s 16 points, dips to 8-7 on the campaign. Gabriele, who was in foul trouble throughout the game, added nine points and seven rebounds while Alicia Saxton chipped in with six rebounds.
“We just got done winning six in-a-row and now we drop two in-a-row so we got to keep the kids up,” Hammerton said. “We turn around in two days and we play a very tough team in Lakeview and you could feel good very quick. So the goal is to put in a good game plan for the Lakeview game, keep the girls spirits high and go out and play as hard as you can.”