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West Branch rides 10-0 run to 14th straight win
Gallery
By Greg Gulas
AUSTINTOWN
Riding a 13-game winning streak heading into Monday’s game at Austintown Fitch, the West Branch girls basketball team was looking forward to playing on the court where the Warriors’ upcoming district tournament will be held.
After a 52-45 win over the host Falcons, head coach Walt DeShields has to be delighted that his Warriors have already gotten a feel for the tourney hardwood.
Brenna Rito had 17 points, Natalie Zuchowski added 10 points and the Warriors (16-2) rode a 10-0 run at the outset of the third quarter for their 14th consecutive win of the season.
“This was a very important win for us, plus we got a feel for the gym,” Rito said. “Tonight, the key was that we played excellent defense the entire game. We rely on each other so to hold them scoreless at the beginning of the third quarter, we were able to turn a one-point halftime deficit into a six-point lead.”
Buckets by Camryn Constance and Sabria Hunter, and two free throws by Natalie Lynn helped stake the Falcons (12-5) to the early 6-2 advantage.
Constance finished with a game-high 17 points while Lynn was the only other Falcons player to hit double figures, adding 12 points on the evening.
Triples by Sarrah Tennefoss and Delaney Rito, and a bucket by Zuchowski ignited an 8-2 which allowed the Warriors to open a 10-8 lead after the first eight minutes of play.
“Our inside play tonight proved to be very important and my personal goal is to shut down their top players,” Zuchowski said. “Our run at the beginning of the second half also gave us a big boost.”
Triples from both Jada Lazaro and Constance gave the Falcons a 14-10 margin at the 6:04 mark of the second quarter, but four free throws by Brenna Rito and a bucket by Zuchowski helped West Branch regain the lead, 16-14.
A 6-0 run by the Falcons made it 20-16 and with time winding down, Kayla Hovorka’s triple from the left corner sliced the Warriors’ deficit to 20-19 heading to the locker room.
“In the third period we tried to wear them down with our depth. We knew that Fitch was a good opponent and they won four straight coming into tonight’s game for a reason,” DeShields said. “They made some good shots, but when you get a 10-point lead you need to take care of the ball a little bit better than we did tonight.”
The Warriors finished with 18 turnovers while the West Branch defense forced 12 Fitch miscues.
By holding the Falcons without a point for 4:01 late in the second quarter to the 5:14 mark of the third frame, the Warriors built a 26-20 lead, only to see Fitch go on a 6-0 run of its own to knot the game at 26.
With the game tied at 28, Brenna Rito’s triple as the clock ticked down helped the Warriors regain a 31-28 margin heading to the final quarter of play.
Triples by Emma Rankin and Hovorka, then a three-point play by Tennefoss stretched the West Branch lead to 40-34, adding a 10-4 run as well for a 50-38 advantage and their largest lead of the game.
Five points by Constance, including her third triple of the game concluded the scoring for the Falcons.
“With West Branch entering the game riding a 13-game win streak, we knew that we had to play really well in order to get a ‘W’ tonight,” Falcons head coach Dan Schnurrenberger said. “Camryn is streaky and when she gets it going and is fun to watch putting the ball in the hoop.”