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Fitch girls take first game against Boardman
Falcons survive slow start to get past Spartans
By Dan Hiner
Austintown
There is value in experience, and the Austintown Fitch girls basketball team has plenty of it.
The senior leadership helped the Falcons weather a first-quarter deficit to beat Boardman 54-42 on Wednesday night at Austintown Fitch High School.
The Falcons (9-3, 3-0 All-American Conference Red Tier) took the first game of the season series with the Spartans (10-4, 3-1 AAC Red Tier) and took control of the Red Tier.
Boardman’s defense forced four turnovers in the first quarter, leading the up-tempo Spartans’ offense to a 13-7 lead by the end of the quarter.
The Spartans double-teamed Fitch forward Sabria Hunter early. Hunter didn’t get a touch in the post until the final 30 seconds of the first.
But the Falcons calmed down in the second. Fitch outscored Boardman 20-6 in the second to take a 27-19 lead at halftime.
Hunter scored 10 of her game-high 23 points in the second. The Fitch senior also had 16 rebounds, three steals and a block.
Since the game was broadcast on television, the game had several additional timeouts.
Fitch head coach Dan Schnurrenberger took advantage of a media timeout with 3:53 left in the first to get his players refocused.
“We started out slow. We we weren’t really on the same page,” Hunter said. “During the timeout, coach reminded us of who we are. It was just a matter of bringing that fire back out of us.”
Cate Green and Reagan Burkey each finished with 10 points for the Spartans.
Green provided a spark for Boardman in the first half. But foul trouble in the forced Spartans head coach Jeff Hammerton to use his starting guard selectively.
Hammerton tried to keep Green for offense, but didn’t want her to pick up her fifth foul in the third quarter.
“Green’s game is defense and I wanted her on the floor for defense, but I can’t have her picking up her fifth foul,” Hammerton said. “Then Burkey has four fouls and now you gotta watch her on the defensive end.
“Those are two of the key players that run the top part of our press and our half-court matchup zone. It was tough keeping them on the floor and not having them foul out. It really broke up the flow for us.”
Boardman clawed back in the game a minute into the fourth quarter. Burkey hit a 3-pointer to cut the Falcons’ lead to 39-38, but he Spartans couldn’t complete the comeback.
“We tried to double Sabria the best we can, but she’s one of the best players in this area — if not the best,” Hammerton said. “You try to front her and you try to help on the back side and it’s like pick your poison. Then those 3-point shooters hit a couple 3s and you have to come out on the 3s and they dump it inside.”
When the Spartans took away Hunter, senior guards Taylor Fronk and Jada Lazaro stepped up. Fronk finished with 11 points and Lazaro added nine.
Schnurrenberger believes his seniors could lead to a special year for Fitch.
“We gotta be constant and do what we’re good at and just get better,” he said.
“I have a group that practices very, very hard and we’ll get better and we’ll do our job to prepare for Warren Harding on Saturday. I like my chances with this team.”