43
Jackson-Milton’s season ends in deluge of turnovers
PERRY TOWNSHIP
An abundance of turnovers helped prevent the Jackson-Milton High School girls basketball team‘s first trip to Columbus.
The Bluejays turned the ball over 31 times in Saturday’s 63-20 loss to top-ranked Berlin Hiland in the Division IV regional final at Massillon Perry High School.
“We couldn’t do anything right,” Jackson-Milton coach Pat Keney said. “We were struggling, they turned the ball over, couldn’t execute on offense, but that’s the way it is.”
Jackson Milton was without senior point guard Kaitlyn Totanti, who was sidelined after being diagnosed with mononucleosis.
“She played Thursday night and struggled,” Keney said. “She went to the hospital after the game and we didn’t get the test results until today.”
While it was tough for the senior to watch from the bench, it was even tougher for her twin sister, Ashley, to play without her.
“I was tearing up before the game,” Ashley Totani said. “I’ve gone through all of these years with her and we share that passion for basketball with each other. It was hard without her.”
Totani scored four points for the Bluejays while Michaelina Terranova led with five.
Berlin Hiland had three players reach double figures.
“Berlin Hiland’s a great team,” Totani said. “Their defense is really up tight and in your face. It’s hard to beat a team that’s well-rounded.”
The number-one ranked team in the state led 36-9 at the half.
“I told them we had to go out and play hard and just don’t quit,” Keney said. “We had not quit on anything all year, so we went out there and tried to play better and harder.”
The Hawks out-scored the Bluejays 17-5 in the third quarter.
“All of the teams we faced up to this point, we dominated everybody on defense, but it just wasn’t our night,” Keney said.
The Hawks dominated on the defensive end, making the Bluejays passive on offense and hesitant to drive to the hole.
“They hadn’t been intimidated all year,” Keney said of his 25-4 team. “They took it to the hole all year.
“{The Hawks] played defense and such great help defense that every time we drove it was closed up. You could see it in our kids’ faces that they were frustrated,” Keney said.
Despite the tough loss, Keney appreciates how far his team has progressed to get to a regional final.
“We got a good learning experience in playing one of the better teams in the state,” Keney said. “We have to learn from it and hope to make it back here next year and maybe we can step it up a little more.”
Jackson-Milton loses three seniors, but returns a roster of young players, including a junior varsity team that went undefeated this season.
“I cannot ask for a better team,” Totani said. “They gave us so many good memories for the past four years. We worked really hard and it’s not the outcome we wished, but we got farther than we ever had.”