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Not again! Canton McKinley ends Twinsburg girls' state dreams in regionals
March 18, 2010
by Michael Leonard
Sports Editor
Canton -- The tears flowed freely after the Twinsburg girls basketball team's loss March 12 at the Canton Civic Center.
Maybe it was because the Tigers were one quarter away from Columbus and came up short.
Maybe it was because two of the players who led Twinsburg to state prominence would move on without reaching the state final four.
Or maybe it was simply because That School Down South did it again.
Canton McKinley ended the Tigers' season for this second straight year, this time with a 53-43 win in the Division I Canton regional final.
Twinsburg (23-2) saw a 22-game winning streak end, while McKinley reached states for the second straight year. McKinley (23-3) was set to play Reynoldsburg March 18 in the Division I state semifinals.
After fighting back to tie the game at 36-36 after three quarters, Twinsburg's shooting touch went cold in the fourth. That fact, combined with excellent free-throw shooting and clock management for the Bulldogs down the stretch spelled doom for the Tigers.
"I would have done the same thing if I had been ahead," said Twinsburg coach Julie Solis. "The kids played hard. For whatever reason, we just couldn't get a rebound. It's not like it wasn't on the scouting report."
Both Solis and her players acknowledged the Bulldogs' offensive rebounding was the deciding factor in the game.
"We just couldn't get to the boards when we needed to," said Tiger center Malina Howard. "It killed us."
The loss was especially hard for seniors Hillary Southworth and Jenn Mohney, who played their last games as Tigers.
Southworth, who will play basketball at Appalachian State next year, didn't mince words when reflecting on the lost.
"It sucks pretty bad," Southworth said. "I had my best year of high school ball and I played with a great group of girls. Our game plan from the start was to control the boards. They had something like 20 offensive rebounds."
"I wanted to get them down there [to states] so badly," Howard said of her senior teammates. "We tried our hardest. It's just going to make me work harder this off-season to get better."
When asked if her younger teammates would break through to states in the future, Southworth left no doubt.
"They'll get there," Southworth said.
Up-tempo Bulldogs take control
Things went amiss early for the Tigers after a missed layup on the game's opening possession allowed McKinley to take the early lead.
In fact, Twinsburg's early shooting was so cold, McKinley opened the game on an 11-3 run before Solis called timeout.
Sophomore guard Ameryst Alston did most of the Bulldogs' damage, as she scored eight of her game-high 20 points in the first quarter.
"She's great," Solis said of Alston. "Down the stretch, she was clutch and we were all over the court tonight."
Twinsburg cut the lead to 13-6 after one quarter, but the game seemed in danger of getting out of hand for most of the first half.
Howard's play in the first half was all that kept Twinsburg within shouting distance. Howard put up nine of her team-high 17 points in the second quarter and accounted for 13 of the team's 23 first half points.
"She did what she was called on to do," Solis said of Howard.
Still, the Bulldogs stretched the lead to 24-15 late in the second quarter before Solis again called timeout.
"They have the ability to make your rush," Solis said. "Your have to stay within yourself against them, but we never looked comfortable. We felt down the entire game."
Twinsburg was able to claw back a bit before halftime, as a running layup from Mohney cut the lead to 28-23 at the half.
Twinsburg's comeback began in earnest in the third quarter, as the Tigers hit the Bulldogs with a taste of their own medicine.
Turning up their defensive intensity, the Tigers held the Bulldogs to eight third-quarter points.
Meanwhile, the Tigers started to find their shooting touch, beginning with a three-pointer from freshman guard Ashley Morrisette.
Although Bulldogs coach Pam Davis called timeout to slow the momentum, Southworth started to find her range.
A pair of buckets from Southworth first tied the game and then gave Twinsburg its first lead at 36-34.
Alston would answer with a jumper to make it 36-36, which was the score at the end of the third quarter.
Just when Twinsburg looked to have the momentum back, however, the Bulldogs took the game away.
After trading buckets to start the quarter, McKinley freshman Aaliyah Dotson nailed a three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish.
With the lead at 45-40, Davis instructed her team to begin a motion offense well beyond the three-point line. The move proved effective as it killed the clock while forcing the Tigers to foul.
McKinley took care of business at the line in the final quarter, going 10-of-13 from charity stripe. Howard nailed the only two free throws Twinsburg had in the quarter.
The lead grew to as much as 13 before Morrisette nailed a three-pointer in the last 30 seconds of the game.
"A lot of it is inexperience," Solis said. "How many bad passes did we have? I'm happy with the fact we made it here. We just need to fix a few things to get through."
E-mail: mleonard@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113
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