SPORTSINK.COM PHOTO
Twinsburg senior Leah Fechko scored 15 points Saturday as the visiting Tigers routed Stow-Munroe Falls in a Northeast Ohio Conference girls baketball matchup.
When a girls basketball team hasn’t lost to a team from Ohio in 23 months and has a center headed to Maryland on a full ride, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle.
But that’s exactly what has happened to Twinsburg’s Leah Fechko with Malina Howard (16.6 points per game, 9.6 rebounds) and Ashley Morrissette (13.8 ppg) leading the way.
“It feels like she’s been in high school for nine years,” kidded Hathaway Brown coach Paul Barlow, who has led the Blazers to three straight Division II state titles. “She’s very good.”
A closer look shows just how good the 5-foot-8 senior guard has been for the Tigers this season.
In the third game of the season, Fechko hit a free throw with 0.2 remaining to beat eventual Suburban League champion Wadsworth 48-47.
At the Classic in the Country, Morrissette (12 points) and Howard (8) struggled in a 55-42 win over Mason, while Fechko poured in 15 points to lead the reigning Division I state champions to their 11th win of the season.
Wednesday, with Howard mired in first-quarter foul trouble and Morrissette fighting through a rare offensive drought, Fechko stepped up in a 57-40 win over Hathaway Brown.
The senior opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer that gave Twinsburg the lead for good and finished the frame with seven points and seven rebounds.
“I just want to come out intense when we’re not playing Twinsburg basketball,” Fechko said.
The Tigers (13-3, 6-0) can all but wrap up the Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division with a win at home against Solon (14-2, 5-1) on Saturday.
The first time the two met, Twinsburg won 51-35.
Eye on the prize
The NOC gymnastics tournament returns to Medina on Saturday. Hudson won the Valley Division last season en route to its runner-up finish at state.
Solon claimed the River Division title.
The Valley Division starts at 10 a.m. and is made up of teams from Brunswick, Hudson, Medina, Mentor, North Royalton and Strongsville.
The River Division begins at 2 p.m. and is comprised of squads from Brush, Cuyahoga Falls, Lakewood, Mayfield, Solon, Stow and Twinsburg.
Hudson junior Bridget Madel is back to defend her Valley Division all-around title, while Stow senior Allison Marino will try to do the same in the River Division.
There is no Lakes Division in gymnastics.
Eye on the prize II
Elyria returns to defend its NOC wrestling tournament title against runner-up Twinsburg, which won the event in 2010.
Brandon Thompson (Solon, 113 pounds), Zach Ghetto (Medina, 120), Mike Labry (Twinsburg, 138), Anthony Collica (Solon, 145), Connor McMahon (Stow, 160) and Michael Baker (Twinsburg, 182) will try to defend individual titles.
Should Medina pull off a miracle and win its fourth straight River Division title – the Bees are currently tied for third with Stow behind North Royalton and Hudson. It would mark the first time a senior class won four conference titles in wrestling at the school.
Action begins Friday in the Garfield Heights gymnasium at 5 p.m. It continues Saturday at 11 p.m. with the finals slated for a 6 p.m. start.
With an assist from a Walker
You better believe Stow’s basketball team has welcomed the return of NOC River Division MVP David Walker, who missed seven games with a broken left wrist.
With the 6-foot-7 guard, the Bulldogs' point differential is plus-13.2. Without him, Stow wins by only 4.4 points.
Before the Northeastern product broke his wrist, the Bulldogs were 4-0, and they’re 6-0 when he’s in the lineup. Without Walker they are 4-3. Walker enters Friday’s game at Mayfield averaging 19.9 points per game.