Falcons’ 25-season district drought snapped

February 22, 2019 at 12:10a.m.

Fitch advances

to Divsion I district

AUSTINTOWN

For 15 minutes and 55 seconds, Warren Harding’s strong defense pestered the Austintown Fitch girls basketball team.

The high-scoring Falcons missed 25 of their first 29 shots in Thursday’s 49-33 Division I tournament win on their home court, their first sectional championship in 25 seasons.

In a game that featured Sabria Hunter (Fitch’s career scoring leader) and Raiders ace Kamarah Bender, the score was an improbable 11-11 before Falcons senior Taylor Fronk beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer.

Things changed dramatically in the third quarter as the Falcons’ shots started falling. Jada Lazaro connected for a pair of 3-pointers for a 29-18 lead.

The Falcons (18-5) dominated the final quarter to earn their first district appearance since 1994. The third-seeded Falcons will play second-seeded Stow-Munroe Falls at 7:45 p.m. Monday at Ravenna High School.

“It’s a big opportunity,” said Lazaro, a 5-foot-2 senior guard who led the Falcons with 13 points. “We have big goals and we’re chasing them.”

Fronk scored 12 points while Hunter contributed 10 points, 18 rebounds and five steals.

“It’s very exciting to get more time with this team,” Fitch coach Dan Schnurrenberger said.

“We got rolling with seniors,” he said, citing Hunter, Lazaro and Mia Jackson.

“And Taylor Fronk with some big steals,” Schnurrenberger said.

Lazaro credited Fronk for igniting the win with her big shot that kept the Falcons from feeling frustrated at halftime.

“We were in a good place because of that [3-pointer] that Taylor knocked down,” Lazaro said. “That picked up the energy and we knew there that this was our game.”

The Raiders (14-10) limited Hunter to 14 points below her scoring average.

“It’s hard to not be able to touch the ball,” the four-year starter said after scoring one basket in the first half.

Hunter admitted frustration.

“I had to find my job for this game, and that was drawing attention and creating for my [teammates],” Hunter said. “And they were able to find their own spots and create opportunities.

“That’s the best defensive game Jada has ever had — credit to her for that. I just did what I could getting [rebounds].”

Harding coach Frank Caputo was pleased with strong work by post players Gia Green, Nalida McQueen, Braeden Morris and Karlie Heilman.

“We did a great job versus Hunter,” Caputo said. “That was our focus — very, very happy with our post players, that whole rotation.”

Fourteen turnovers in the second half stifled the Raiders’ offense.

“We turned the ball over a little too much,” Caputo said. “We missed a couple of wide-open [shots] we needed to make.”

In her final varsity game, Indea Phillips led the Raiders with 12 points and 11 rebounds. “We were [happy] to hold them down because they are a high-scoring team,” Phillips said.

Caputo said losing Phillips and Green to graduation means the absence of “a lot of leadership. They are great overall role players, two great girls.”

Bender scored 11 points.

The Falcons won all three contests this season against the Raiders. The second one was a high-scoring game that required overtime. Hunter said the Raiders’ loss of Faith Burch to injury was what made the tournament game different.

“They lost their best player, but they played extremely hard, physical,” Hunter said. “And that really challenged us.”