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Warriors scratch Cats

AUSTINTOWN–When the West Branch girls basketball team scrimmaged Struthers before the season, coach Walt DeShields yanked his starters after a poor first quarter. It’s safe to say that the Warriors squad that took the floor against the Wildcats in Monday’s Division II district semifinal has shown considerable growth.

“It went from coach (Walt) DeShields telling us we were the worst defensive team he’s ever had to now we’re one of the better ones that he’s had,” West Branch junior forward Kayla Hovorka said. “We took that to heart. We still have a lot to improve on, but our defense has gotten so much better since then.”

The top-seeded Warriors overcame a somewhat sloppy first half to gradually wear down the fourth-seeded Wildcats and walk away with a 49-43 victory at Austintown Fitch High School.

West Branch (23-2) won its 21st game in a row and is rewarded with a spot in the district championship game against fifth-seeded Ravenna Southeast at 7 p.m. Thursday at Austintown Fitch High School. Struthers finishes its season 18-7.

“We just wanted to keep the pressure up on them (Struthers) and wear them down,” Hovorka said. “Once we picked up our intensity in the second half, everything just fell into place.”

Both teams combined for 19 turnovers in a physical first half, that saw the lead change hands multiple times before the Warriors edged in front 21-19 going into the locker room. Hovorka, who had 11 points and nine rebounds, and Natalie Zuchowski (nine points) spent most of the second quarter on the bench with foul trouble.

“Hannah Ridgeway and Shannon Wolfe stepped up off the bench and helped us sustain our lead while those two were out,” West Branch coach Walt DeShields said. “Our bench as a whole didn’t score a lot, but they did a good job defensively and allowed our starters to play with new energy in the second half.”

The Warriors slowly but surely began putting some distance between themselves and the Wildcats in the third quarter. Senior Emma Rankin (11 points) hit two crucial threes, one at the start of the frame and one at the end, to help the Warriors widen the gap to 39-31 going to the fourth.

In the fourth quarter, point guard Brenna Rito (10 points, seven steals) had a nice dish to Zuchowski off of penetration followed by a mid-range jumper to give the Warriors their largest lead of the night at 45-35 with 3:52 left.

After an empty Struthers possession, the Warriors were able to kill almost 40 seconds on their next possession. After the one minute mark, they were never seriously threatened.

“We did a better job of being stronger with the ball in the second half,” DeShields said. “When we spread the floor out a little more, we were able to open up some driving lanes.”

Athletic guards Khaylah Brown and Alexis Bury led Struthers with 11 points apiece. The Warriors defense held the Wildcats to 36 percent shooting overall. Guard Sarrah Tennefoss did a superb job blanketing the Wildcats’ top three-point shooter Emily Grandy, who only managed a meaningless three at the final buzzer.

“I think she (Grandy) came in with 63 threes on the year,” DeShields said. “Sarrah did an absolutely fantastic job on her.”

While the Warriors have already had a great season, they are well aware they can elevate it to another level on Thursday.

“It means a lot to have a shot at a district title,” Hovorka said. “But it’s going a business trip. We have to be calm and take care of business. I know we’ll ready for it.”

Game notes

¯It is the sixth time in the last seven seasons that the West Branch girls basketball team will play for a district title. The Warriors’ had a run of five straight district title game appearances from 2011-2015.

“That says a lot about all of the girls of the past and these girls that have their moment right now,” DeShields said. “You only get a few chances at this and this is their chance come Thursday night.”

¯Both teams could very well find themselves meeting in the district round again next season. Struthers started four juniors and one senior, while the Warriors started three juniors and had two sophomores and a freshman play key minutes off the bench.

¯Southeast beat second-seeded Howland 61-53 in the second semifinal. The Pirates are now 21-3 and have won 17 of their last 18 games.

“Whoever we play is going to be ready, everyone at this point is well-coached” DeShields said. “We just have to focus on doing what we do best, which is playing defense first and getting some points off our defense. We’re looking forward to the opportunity.”

¯West Branch and Southeast had three common opponents during the season, which were Ravenna, Garrettsville Garfield (the top-seed in the Ravenna Div. III district) and Lakeview. Southeast lost to Lakeview by four and Garfield by two early in the season before beating Garfield by 14 in their second meeting. The Pirates beat Ravenna by 18. West Branch beat Lakeview by 14, Garfield by five and Ravenna by 32.

STRUTHERS: 7-12-12-12–43

WEST BRANCH: 9-12-18-10–49

STRUTHERS SCORING: Alexis Bury 5-0-11, Emily Grandy 2-1-6, Michelle Buser 1-0-3, Karli Shives 2-0-4, Trinity McDowell 3-2-8, Khaylah Brown 5-1-11. TEAM TOTALS: 18, 4-12: 43.

WEST BRANCH SCORING: Brenna Rito 3-4-10, Emma Rankin 4-0-11, Kayla Hovorka 4-3-11, Sarrah Tennefoss 1-3-5, Natalie Zuchowski 4-1-9, Grace Heath 0-0-0, Hannah Ridgeway 0-2-2, Shannon Wolfe 0-1-1, Delaney Rito 0-0-0, Kirsten Plocher 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 16, 14-24: 49.

Three-point goals: Struthers 3 (Bury, Grandy, Buser).

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