By JIM EXLINE
The Press-News
In a game that featured two local teams, the Sandy Valley Lady Cardinals and the East Canton Wizards put on a show that was exciting to watch.
In the first half, East Canton took control and dominated the game. In the second half, Sandy Valley took to the court fired up and came close to tying up the game. In the end, the Wizards defeated the Lady Cardinals by the score of 68-55
The Wizards jumped out early, leading 15-8 after one period. During the second period, East Canton got all gears going, outscoring Sandy Valley 20-9, to lead at halftime by a 35-17 score. During the second period, East Canton attacked the ball aggressively, utilizing a full-court press at times, which caused havoc for the Lady Cardinals. After three periods, the score was 56-33, East Canton.
The final eight minutes were by far the Lady Cardinals best of the evening. They started attacking the ball very aggressively in the third and never let up in the final period. Their attack was successful, causing the Wizards to turn the ball over numerous times. Sandy Valley outscored East Canton 22-12 in the final period, and at one time went on a 10-0 run, and held the Wizard's to just 12 points in the final eight minutes. However, it wasn't quite enough, and the Wizards got the 68-55 win.
Leading scorers for East Canton were Courtney Mitchell and Kati Varian with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Cassie Sharp added 15 points.
The Wizards had 30 rebounds and 26 turnovers for the night. Erin Dunbar and Mitchell had seven rebounds each. Sharp had five assists, and Dunbar had four steals.
About the win, coach Tom Davis said, "We had a strong first half, but Sandy (Valley) came back on us in the second half. We worked hard in practice in taking the ball to the basket instead of just settling for threes. Courtney Mitchell and Katie Varian drew a number of fouls that way. Our press forced 33 turnovers."
Mitchell was 14 of 16 from the free throw line, which was just short of the school record of 15 of 17, set by Stacy Wright Duskey.
For Sandy Valley, Danielle Grooms was the leading scorer with 23 points. Kelli Mohr added 13 and Jordan Fonte added 10. The Lady Cardinal shot 75 percent from the free throw line.
About the loss to East Canton, coach Terry Leek said this, "We are really proud of our girls. They are a great bunch of girls, and they didn't quit. They worked hard, but we need to be more consistent."
About their run in the second half, coach Leek said "We started passing more, we shot better, and we got more aggressive. We played a more well-rounded second half, both on defense and offense."
More on the East Canton Wizards on Page B4.
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