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Warriors hang on for ‘home’ win
Alazaus’ double-double includes 5 triples
By Greg Gulas
AUSTINTOWN
Under Coach Walt DeShields, the West Branch High School girls basketball team has enjoyed its share of regular season and tournament success at the Fitch Falcons Gymnasium.
He’s referred to the edifice as their home away from home.
The Warriors watched a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead all but disappear as the Falcons pulled to within a point with nine seconds remaining.
The Warriors then held their collective breaths as two Falcons shots fell off the iron with time running down and they hung on for a 53-52 victory.
Peyton Alazaus had a double-double for the Warriors, registering 18 points and 11 rebounds. She canned a game-high five triples.
Grace Heath added 12 points and two more triples as West Branch (7-1) improved to 3-1 on the road.
Fitch’s Sabria Hunter also posted a double-double, leading all scorers with 31 points while hauling down a game-high 14 caroms.
It was the Falcons’ first setback this season.
“We wanted to draw them out, let the defense collapse and then kick the ball back out for a three-point attempt,” Alazaus said. “The key for us today was to have Jess [Bock] box out Sabria Hunter and have everyone else do their share of the rebounding.”
A bucket by Hunter and a triple by Jada Lazaro offset Alazaus three-pointer for the early 5-3 Falcons (5-1) lead. Another Alazaus bucket from beyond the arc and triple by Heath helped the Warriors forge a 9-5 advantage and a lead they would maintain the rest of the game.
West Branch built a 16-12 margin heading to the second quarter.
Two more triples and seven points by Alazaus in the second period helped the Warriors outscore Fitch, 16-9 as they opened a 32-21 halftime advantage.
At the outset of the third quarter, six points by Hunter and a triple by Taylor Fronk keyed an 9-2 run that allowed the Falcons to cut the West Branch lead to 34-30.
West Branch then went on a 14-4 run, highlighted by freshman Anna Lippiatt’s 30-foot heave at the buzzer for a 48-34 lead heading to the final period.
“We had five players shoot 3’s and three made them, which was big for us,” DeShields said. “We learned a lot during our loss to Canfield as we were up by five points but ended up losing by five.
“We’re focused on the process and just trying to get better each time out.
“Dan Schnurrenberger has a great team and Sabria Hunter is a great player,” DeShields said. “Our girls have a lot of respect for her and while she scored 31 points, our girls made it difficult for her the entire game.
“She worked for her looks. I was proud of our big’s because they didn’t give up a lot of easy looks today.”
Hunter’s 11 points at the outset of the fourth quarter keyed a 16-3 run by the Falcons as they pulled to within 51-50 with 2:06 remaining.
Alazaus’ hoop extended the Warriors’ lead to 53-50, but Emma Bartlett’s bucket in the lane cut the Fitch deficit to 53-52 with 12 seconds remaining.
West Branch missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity with nine seconds remaining, only to have the game end when two Falcons attempts fell short.
“We dug a hole early but our girls kept fighting. I am a proud coach right now because of their overall effort, which isn’t easy to do when you are down like we were,” Schnurrenberger said. “They fought the entire game, showed mental toughness, leadership and guts.
“We’ll learn from this because we’ll be in this situation again at some point during the season. Sabria is a great basketball player and you aren’t out of too many games and with her on the court. You cannot count us out.”