Poland focus set on Buchtel

By BOB ETTINGER

sports@vindy.com

POLAND

The Poland High School girls basketball team has an unbeaten regular season plus conference and district championships under its belt.

Coach Nick Blanch has made it clear to the Bulldogs, however, that this is no time to celebrate. There’s still work to be done as the team enters the regional tournament.

“We’ve done a good job [staying focused],” Blanch said Monday. “I want them to enjoy this.

“We had a laid back practice Friday,” said Blanch, the Bulldogs head coach for 10 seasons. “Everybody was congratulating them at school. We had a boys game that night. They got recognized at that.

“We went pretty hard at practice,” he said. “I told them the parade is over. The district tournament is done, that’s old news now. They can enjoy it when the season is over. That’s really all I’ve had to say.”

Poland is making its first regional appearance in 19 seasons.

“They [are] focused,” Blanch said. “This is a competitive group. They want to be the best and they practice like it every day.”

The Bulldogs (25-0) will continue their dream season with a battle against Akron Buchtel tonight in a Division II regional semifinal at Barberton High School.

“Buchtel is a very athletic, very physical team,” Blanch said. “They like to get into those track-meet type games. They like that up-and-down tempo.

“We’ve got to do a good job sticking with our tempo,” Blanch said. “The biggest thing is we have to play for four quarters. Buchtel is noticeably a fourth-quarter team.

“They’ve had several games they were down double digits in the fourth quarter and came back. We have to play our game, but play it for four quarters. We can’t let off the gas. We have to play aggressively for four quarters.”

With a victory, Poland will play the Perry-Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary winner in the regional championship on Friday at 7 p.m.

“I don’t look ahead,” Blanch said. “I’m focused strictly on Buchtel. I know nothing about either team.

“I’ve always believed that if you look too far ahead, you could end up kicking yourself in the behind. It’s not my problem yet. When it becomes our problem, then I’ll prepare for it.”

Blanch has to look no further than the elder stateswomen of the Bulldogs for the team’s approach. The four seniors — Marlie McConnell, Kat Partika, Elena Cammack and Sarah Bury — have kept the Bulldogs’ eyes trained on the prize.

“That starts with those four seniors,” Blanch said. “They’ve set the tone every day. They have expectations. They’ve done a good job keeping the rest of the girls focused on the task. They’ve the best leaders I’ve ever had. I couldn’t be more proud of this group and these leaders.”

Joining the seniors are Jackie Grisdale, Brooke Bobbey, Kailyn Brown, Morgan Kluchar, Mia Gajdos, Ella Harrell, Katie Masucci, Connie Cougras, Abby Farber and Lizzy Herdman.

“It’s very beneficial to have that many kids to rely on,” Blanch said. “We have girls whose role is to go in for 30 seconds, give a kid a breather, and come back out. They understand their roles and what they have to do for the team’s success. I don’t do well with me-first players. I can’t deal with that in a team sport.”