Three-pointers help boost Canfield past Howland, 53-45

CORTLAND — It was truly a tale of two halves when powerful Canfield and Howland met in a girls’ basketball showdown in the Tigers’ gym Wednesday night.

In the first-half, the taller Tigers were successful in denying the Cardinals anything inside. But in the second half, Canfield began raining three-pointers down on the Tigers and went on to post a 53-45 triumph over the hosts.

“We don’t have a true back-to-the-basket post player, and in the first half they (the Tigers) could always commit somebody (inside), but then when we started making some (three-pointers) they had to spread out and that opened some driving lanes up,” said Canfield head coach Matt Reel.

Canfield defeats top team in Mahoning Matters Super 7 girls’ basketball poll

With the win, Canfield improved its record to 7-5, while Howland, which was the top-rated team in this week’s mahoningmatters.com Super 7 girls’ basketball poll, absorbed only its third loss in 12 games.

Canfield had nine three-pointers in the game, including six in the deciding second half.

“We held them to 15 (points) in the first half and they (the Cardinals) just kind of exploded in the second half,” said Howland head coach Aaron Pounds. “It came down to them hitting those threes.”

“It (making threes) is a key for us,” said Reel. “We’ve seen it in practice and haven’t seen it in games consistently enough but we’re getting there.”

Jenna Triveri leads Canfield with 18 points

The Cardinals placed three players in double figures, led by 5-7 sophomore Jenna Triveri with a game-high 18 points, including four of the Cardinals’ nine three-pointers, while teammates Camie Dill and 5-10 Camryn Hritz added 16 points apiece and Grace McQuiston finished with six points on a pair of treys.

Pacing Howland was 6-0 freshman Maya Kubancsek with 14 points, while Jessie DeSalvo added seven markers.

Canfield’s Camie Dill blanketed Howland’s All-Ohio standout guard Alyssa Massucci on defense while holding her to just six points in the contest, another key in the Cardinals’ win.

“We challenged her (Dill) before the game to step up and be the leader and I thought she showed that tonight,” praised Reel. “That might have been her finest game and I’m proud of how she’s leading this team. She’s started to develop into the leader we need.”

Howland led throughout the first half, holding quarter-stop leads of 8-3 and 17-15 and was successful in denying the Cardinals anything inside the paint with their tall front line.

But all that changed at the outset of the second half when the Cardinals came out in the third quarter and outscored the Tigers 17-3 in a matter of 3:01.

“They made a little run on us and it got away from us and we weren’t closing out on the shooters the way we wanted to,” observed Pounds.

Canfield hit five three-pointers in the third quarter and turned a 17-15 halftime deficit into a quick 12-point (32-20) lead following a triple by Triveri. The Cardinals never looked back.

“I was proud of them, that was a tough first half offensively for us,” said Reel. “I said we kind of set basketball back about 30 years offensively in the first half, but I’m excited how they hung in there and they didn’t stop believing and that’s easy to do when you’re record is not what you expect, so I’m just proud of their resilience.”

Canfield took its largest lead of the night at 14 points (42-28) following two free throws by Dill with 1:11 showing in the third quarter and held a 44-33 advantage going into the final stanza.

Howland rallied to cut the Cardinals’ lead down to as few as four-points (49-45) with 48 seconds left, following a three-pointer by the Tigers’ Kubancsek.

But forced to foul, Howland put Canfield at the free-throw line twice in the remaining time as Dill and Triveri added free throws to seal the Cardinals’ 53-45 triumph.

“Our legs, we looked a little tired and I didn’t go as deep in my bench as I wanted to,” reflected Pounds. “I have ideas about coaching and I kind of get away from them. I’m not upset about the effort, the girls fought hard, but I need to be able to get them more of a breather and get some of these other subs up to speed so we can get them in and rotate them through and be fresher.”

Reel feels Canfield’s brutal schedule is preparing them for the stretch run of the regular season and the postseason tournament. He agreed the Cardinals’ 7-5 record is very deceiving because they are one of the top D2 teams in northeast Ohio.

“We look at our schedule and the five teams that have beaten us have won 78 percent of their games and you’ve got some state powers (on the schedule),” said the Canfield coach. “Our schedule is preparing us.”

Canfield will play the Chippewa Chipps in the Burton Berkshire Hall of Fame Hoopfest Saturday at 5 p.m.

Howland will play Mayfield in the Burton Berkshire Hall of Fame Hoopfest Tournament Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

Alyssa Massucci honored for 1,000 career points

Before the game, Howland’s Alyssa Massucci was honored with a special banner commemorating her recent accomplishment of scoring 1,000 career points.

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