Here’s a look at Summit County-area high school sports highlights for the Week of March 2-8.
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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Thursday’s girls basketball: Copley reaches regional final behind Evelyn McKnight, Jayli Owens
Division III, Region 9 semifinal
Wednesday’s girls basketball: Starters guide Wadsworth into regional final; Sydney Ferguson, Melania Cornute lead STVM into regional final
Division I, Region 1 regional semifinal
Wadsworth 44, Jackson 33: All of Wadsworth’s scoring came from its starters in a win at Barberton High School. Junior Natalie Moser led Wadsworth (23-2) with 12 points and seven rebounds. Moser scored eight points in the second half as the Grizzlies outscored the Polar Bears 22-14.
Wadsworth will meet Mentor (24-1) in a regional final at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at Barberton. Mentor defeated Canton McKinley 44-40 on Wednesday.
Other key contributors for Wadsworth were sophomore Julia Maddox (10 points, three assists), senior Lauren Decker (eight points, seven rebounds, four steals, three assists), senior Marah Minor (eight points) and sophomore Natalie Maddox (six points, 15 rebounds, three steals, two blocks).
“Our veteran players, who were at this level last year, really led the way with their energy, toughness and attention to detail on the scouting report,” Wadsworth coach Andrew Booth said. “The youngsters then followed their lead.”
Wadsworth led 22-19 at halftime, and opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run that featured a layup and two free throws by Moser and a 3-pointer by Decker. Moser made two layups to give Wadsworth a 37-29 lead in the fourth quarter. Minor made a 3-pointer to give Wadsworth a 44-32 lead with 3:15 remaining.
Senior Maddie Lepley paced Jackson (22-4) with 17 points, six rebounds and three steals.
“The key to our victory was on the defensive end,” Booth said. “To hold a very talented Jackson team to 33 points on under 30% shooting was truly a team effort.”
Division III, Region 10 regional semifinal
St. Vincent-St. Mary 47, Highland 39: The Irish will make their second consecutive regional final appearance after sophomore Sydney Ferguson scored 22 points and hauled in 13 rebounds in a win over Highland.
“I was ready to play from the start,” Ferguson said. “I was ready to win. My coach was like, ‘Come on Syd, we need you to get these rebounds so we can win.’ I was like ‘I got you.’ And I did it.”
Junior Melania Cornute added 18 and 10 boards for STVM.
“Highland is a good team,” STVM coach Carley Whitney said. “They are good at what they do. They just keep coming at you and keep coming at you. They had a great game plan.
“The fourth quarter showcased exactly what those two [Ferguson and Cornute] are capable of. … Sydney Ferguson has an all-around game. She is a three-level scorer. She showcased tonight she is not just tall, she’s big and she’s gonna make you pay.”
Highland led 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. STVM led 24-22 at halftime and 31-29 through three quarters.
“We just had that momentum coming out of third quarter,” Cornute said. “We talked to you each other and we were like, ‘Let’s go. We’ve got this. Let’s end this right now.’ We came out strong and just put it all out on the floor and played together.”
STVM (20-5) improved to 4-2 in regional semifinal appearances under Whitney.
Junior Emeri Gausman, sophomore Madison Morgan and senior Grace Shondel each scored 10 points for Highland (22-4).
“We are losing two seniors [to graduation],” Highland coach James Madison said. “I think we can get back to regionals again. We have most of our team coming back. We gotta learn from this loss. The girls fought hard. They hung right with them. It is tough right now, but we will be back next year.”
Madison said Ferguson was “tough” to stop. “She’s 6-foot-4,” Madison said. “She hit a couple of 3s. She got a couple of big rebounds. She was the best player on the floor tonight. She hurt us.”
STVM moves on to play Toledo Notre Dame Academy (15-10), a 35-30 winner over Norwalk, at 3 p.m. March 7 at Elida Fieldhouse.
“Our key word this year is believe,” Whitney said. “You have to believe. I think sometimes we get caught in the moment. We have put them in pressure situations. Our schedule has prepared them for moments like this, and they’re ready. When the fourth quarter started, I just said, ‘You guys gotta believe and you gotta play together and you gotta find your spots.’
“They found their spots and they did exactly what they had to to get the win. … I am so proud of them and how they handled the last 4½ minutes.”
Wednesday’s boys basketball: Manchester rolls to district final with win over Black River
Division V, Northeast 4 district semifinal
Tuesday’s regional semifinal girls basketball: Hudson beats Brecksville to advance
Division II, Region 6
Tuesday’s district semifinal boys basketball: Hudson, Highland, STVM, CVCA, Hoban, Wadsworth, Nordonia advance
Division II, Northeast 1
Division II, Northeast 4
Division II, Northeast 5
Division II, Northeast 6
Division II, Northeast 7
Division III, Northeast 2
Division III, Northeast 3
Division III, Northeast 4
Division III, Northeast 5
Division III, Northeast 6
Division IV, Northeast 2
Division IV, Northeast 4
Wednesday’s OHSAA basketball tournament schedule
GIRLS REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
BOYS DISTRICT SEMIFINALS
Division V
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, March 2-8
Reporting by Michael Beaven, Brad Bournival and Don Coughlin, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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