Here’s a look at Summit County-area high school sports highlights for the Week of Feb. 23-March 1.
Coaches and athletic directors can send their results to bjsports@thebeaconjournal.com for inclusion in BeaconJournal.com’s weekly high school sports highlights.
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Saturday’s girls basketball results: Copley, Wadsworth, Nordonia, Hudson lead local district champions
Evelyn McKnight and Zoey Van Voorhis remember the magical run the Copley girls basketball team went on in 2023-2024 en route to a Division II state semifinal appearance.
That’s why the two stars pulled out all the stops on Feb. 28 to beat 22nd-seeded Ellet 61-39 and win a Division III, Northeast 2 District title.
Sixth-seeded Copley (19-6) advanced to a regional semifinal against Northeast 4 winner Canfield (23-2) at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 5, at the Canton Memorial Field House.
“It means a lot for us, personally,” Copley senior guard Zoey Van Voorhis said. “We’re always compared to our sophomore season. It’s really special for us.”
Copley star Evelyn McKnight showed why she’s in the conversation for Ohio’s Ms. Basketball when she dropped a triple-double on Ellet (18-7). The Youngstown State commit scored 19 points and added 11 rebounds and 10 assists for her first triple-double of the season.
“She’s special,” Copley coach Julie Solis said of McKnight. “Sometimes we have to encourage her to be aggressive. Even without us, she’d get those kind of numbers, but when we encourage her to be aggressive and she gets in that mindset, she’s pretty unstoppable.”
Van Voorhis was a terror for Copley as well with six 3-pointers and a game-high 23 points. Jayli Owens had nine points and six rebounds.
Ellet was paced by Janiyah Carter (10 points, six rebounds) and London Riley (seven points, four rebounds, five assists).
This was the second consecutive season Ellet reached a district final. It also was the second time in program history.
Although Ellet bowed out, only Lulu Russell graduates from the current team.
“We’re excited,” Ellet coach Nick Harris said. “You saw this group. They wanted to win and thought they could win. Now, they’ll have that feeling of not winning [a district title]. It’s a great motivator in the offseason. They know they’re capable and can hang with teams, but also they know there’s work to be done. That leads to us having high hopes and big dreams for next season.”
In other district finals:
Division I, Northeast 2
Division II, Northeast 1
Division II, Northeast 2
Division II, Northeast 3
Division II, Northeast 6
Division III, Northeast 3
Division III, Northeast 5
Division III, Northeast 6
Friday’s boys basketball: Tallmadge, Hoban, CVCA win sectional titles
Division III, Northeast 3 sectional final
Division III, Northeast 5 sectional final
Division III, Northeast 6 sectional final
Wednesday girls basketball: Wadsworth, Hoban, Hudson, Nordonia, Twinsburg, Copley, Ellet, STVM, Highland, Tallmadge advance to district final
Division I, Northeast 2 district semifinal
Division I, Northeast 4 district semifinal
Division II, Northeast 1 district semifinal
Division II, Northeast 2 district semifinal
Division II, Northeast 3 district semifinal
Division II, Northeast 4 district semifinal
Division II, Northeast 6 district semifinal
Division III, Northeast 2 district semifinal
Division III, Northeast 2 district semifinal
Division III, Northeast 3 district semifinal
Division III, Northeast 5 district semifinal
Division III, Northeast 6 district semifinal
Tuesday girls basketball: Norton girls basketball upset by Gilmour Academy
Division IV, Northeast 1 District
The Akron Beacon Journal sports department can be contacted via email at bjsports@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron-area high school basketball scores and OHSAA results, Feb. 23-March 1
Reporting by Michael Beaven, Brad Bournival and Don Coughlin, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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