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Cuyahoga Falls guard Kayleigh Scourfield brings the ball up court against Tallmadge guard Kelsey Rice on Monday night at Tallmadge. The Blue Devils beat the Black Tigers 50-32.
AKRON, Ohio – Manchester girls basketball coach Tucker Pappas would rather have his team fly under the radar.
But, his Panthers, now 15-0, after a 47-40 win Monday night at St. Vincent-St. Mary, are tied for second in the latest Division II state poll.
“I hate it," said Pappas, when asked about the ranking after his team had snapped St. V-M's eight-game winning streak. "I lose a lot of sleep over that stupid thing … a lot of sleep … a lot of sleep. You’ve got Hathaway Brown who’s won three state championships and plays the best teams in the country and we’re No. 2 and they’re No. 7. Really?
“But, it is what it is. And it’s fun for the kids to look at – and I don’t want to sound unappreciative of it.”
Manchester used hot shooting to build a 17-8 first-quarter lead and the Panthers rode that advantage the rest of the game. St. V-M whittled its deficit to 40-37 on sophomore Kiley May’s 3-point goal with 2:09 to play, but the Panthers answered with a key drive and score by senior Angela Durgala and then 5-of-6 free-throw shooting in the final 1:05.
“We had opportunities. They can be a very difficult team to guard,” St. V-M coach Joe Jakubick said. “I thought we did a good job defensively in the second half. I felt we had some turnovers that just killed us.
“They are ranked No. 2 in the state for a reason.”
Manchester knocked down three 3-point goals in the first quarter, but then only hit two more the rest of the game and finished 5-of-28 from beyond the arc.
Jakubick’s Irish employed a 2-3 zone defense during the third quarter and trimmed Manchester’s 27-17 halftime lead to 37-31, after the Panthers shot 1-of-10 on 3-point attempts.
“I freaked out and yelled at them to 'quit shooting the ball' and they looked at me like … because we’ve never had that philosophy,” Pappas said. “They were kind of freaked out when I said that, but they understood though. They understood.”
With their lead hovering in the 5-to-7 point range, and having to cope with some foul trouble, the Panthers elected to spread the floor and hold the ball until St. V-M came out of the zone.
“They are hard to guard man-to-man for long periods of time,” Jakubick said.
Manchester’s athleticism, ball skills and experience took over the game when the Irish were forced to match up.
“I like driving,” Panthers’ sophomore guard Kayci Krzynowek said. “That’s one of my favorite things to do. I like to beat my person off the dribble.”
St. V-M did have Manchester on its heels late in the game with some half court and full court zone traps.
Senior Michelle Noble, a 5-foot-9 swing player, sank two free throws with 1:05 left and two more at 44.4 seconds to put Manchester on top 46-40.
“Everyone else on the floor puts in what they need to put in and I just put in what I need to put in,” said Noble, who finished with six points, 10 rebounds and two assists. “We just all work together to get where we are at. We just all do it together.”
Durgala overcame foul trouble to finish with 11 points. Six-foot-3 center Autumn Brown contributed nine points, 12 boards and two blocks for Manchester. Interchangeable point guards Krzynowek (7 points) and senior Taylor Mattioli (6 points) each had five steals.
The Irish start four sophomores and they continue to grow and gain valuable experience.
“This is why my schedule is like it is,” Jakubick said. “(Manchester) helped make us a better team tonight.”
May scored 13 points for St. V-M (9-3). Irish sophomore guard Shannon Jack had a brilliant four-minute stretch late in the third quarter and finished with 11 points. Senior Taja Dave had nine points.
In other Monday girls basketball games:
TALLMADGE 50, CUYAHOGA FALLS 32. At Tallmadge, junior Leah Makuch scored 13 points as the Blue Devils (10-4) overwhelmed the Black Tigers from the start.
Tallmadge led 16-4 after one quarter and 27-13 at half on its way to an easy win.
Senior post Logen Breehl had 13 points for the Black Tigers (7-6).
AKRON NORTH 45, AKRON EAST 43. At East Community Learning Center, the North Vikings ended a long winless streak with a victory over Dragons.
Aleyah Carmona (12 points), Sabria Meadows (12), Tiara Guice (12) and Keishawnna Burts (10) all scored in twin figures for the Vikings (1-15, 1-8). North did not win a game in 2010-11.
Sophomore Airelle Sibley had 27 points for East.
FIRESTONE 79, AKRON GARFIELD 39. At Firestone High Scool, junior post Mishae Roper collected an unusual triple-double as Firestone routed City Series opponent Garfield (8-5, 6-3).
Roper put up 30 points, 27 rebounds and 10 steals and Firestone improved to 10-4 (8-1). Senior point guard Tayelor McCalister added 20 points and seven assists for the Falcons.
HUDSON 56, MASSILLON PERRY 40. At Hudson, junior forward Hannah Boesinger powered in 20 points and the Explorers (11-2) cruised to a win at home.
Laura Mummey (8 points), Christie Wade (7) and Allison Zullo (7) provided offensive support as Hudson built a 36-21 lead at halftime.
Brianna McCaulley scored 16 points for Perry (8-7).
BARBERTON 57, ALLIANCE 39. At Alliance, freshman Heather Sykes scored 18 points to lead the Magics (7-8) to a road win.
Barberton used a 14-3 scoring differential in the second quarter to take control.
Jessie Frost added 12 points for the Magics.
Danielle Kemp paced the Aviators with 10 points.