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Twinsburg senior Malina Howard was named to the girls Associated Press All-Ohio Division I First Team. Howard and the Tigers won their second state championship on Saturday.
TWINSBURG, Ohio – It’s safe to once again put an “S” on the front of Malina Howard’s uniform.
Wednesday, the 6-foot-4 senior did it again in a 57-40 win over three-time Division II defending state champion Hathaway Brown for Twinsburg’s girls basketball team.
The win marked the 32nd straight victory by the reigning Division I state champion Tigers (13-3) over an Ohio team, but more importantly showed why Howard – a first-team All-Ohio selection as a junior – is in the talk for this season’s Ms. Basketball award.
Picking up two fouls in the span of 7:24, Howard was relegated to the bench for much of the second quarter.
When she came back, Howard (24 points, 11 rebounds) showed just how strong – and smart – she can be.
While Blazers junior center Stephanie Poland (5 points, 4 rebounds) tried to push the action offensively, Howard stayed true.
Her 11-point third quarter took a 28-16 halftime advantage and made it a 46-27 drubbing by the time the fourth frame rolled around.
“Malina is very focused right now,” Twinsburg coach Julie Solis said. “She’s focused on her goals and what she wants. She’s finishing well right now. She’s demanding the ball and I think as much as we’re getting it to her, we’re still missing her quite a bit, too.”
It was hard to miss the defensive effort of the Tigers as they offset a 5-of-19 first quarter shooting performance by forcing 21 turnovers.
That defense – along with a 32-21 advantage on the boards – was the difference.
Thanks to what they did when they didn’t have the ball a 12-11 deficit after one period turned into a decided advantage after a 17-4 second quarter run sparked by Leah Fechko.
“We got our intensity up,” Howard said. “We started the game very lackadaisical and weren’t into it. We needed to get the intensity.
“This is really big, especially since it’s the end of the season. We’re getting things done on the defensive and offensive end."
That’s been the mantra of the team after falling a few weeks ago to duPont Manual from Kentucky.
While juniors Nia Marshall (17 points, 9 rebounds) and Vanessa Smith (12) hurt Twinsburg, no one else did much for Hathaway Brown.
With Solon coming up on Saturday, the Tigers can remain in the driver’s seat of the Northeast Ohio Conference River Division.
While Ashley Morrissette (6 points, 3 assists) wasn’t necessarily on against the Blazers, the play of Howard and Fechko (12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) more than made up for things.
Add a strong game from LaShawna Gatewood (8 points, 5 rebounds) and Howard can see the team coming together at the right time.
“We just have to get better at what we do and not worry about who we’re playing,” Howard said. “It’s all about how we play together no matter who the competition is.”