Boardman gets hard-fought 56-44 girls’ basketball win in overtime over Austintown Fitch
BOARDMAN — Big-time players step up when everything is on the line.
That’s precisely what Boardman High School’s All-Ohioan Mackenzie Riccitelli did Saturday afternoon when she led the Spartans to a 56-44 overtime win over arch-rival Austintown Fitch in a key All-American Conference girls’ basketball game on the Spartans’ home hardwood.
Riccitelli poured in a game-high 28 points, including 10 of the Spartans’ 16 points in the extra session, as Boardman improved to 13-4 on the season. She was also prominent at the free-throw line, sinking 11 of 14 shots there.
“Mackenzie (Riccitelli) is a really good player,” said Austintown Fitch head coach Dan Horacek. “She’s probably one of the top two or three players in the area and she took over in overtime. She’s really good and we didn’t have an answer in the overtime period.”
The win also maintained the Spartans’ first-place standing in the All-American Conference at 5-1. Howland is currently in second place at 3-2 in the AAC and Fitch (11-7 overall) is in third league play at 3-3.
“All this did was get us in the driver’s seat (in the AAC title chase) where we control our destiny,” said a pleased Boardman girls’ basketball coach Jeff Hammerton.
The Boardman win also avenged an earlier 40-38 loss the Spartans sustained at Fitch on January 10.
“This league (AAC) is incredible this year — everybody is really good,” stated Horacek.
Boardman on impressive winning streak
With the win, Boardman has also won five games in a row.
Complementing Riccitelli’s big offensive performance for the Soartans were junior Sarah Bero who finished with 10 points, M.C. Werth added nine markers and Ava Freeborough who finished with six points.
Leading Fitch’s well-balanced offensive attack was senior Destanie McCullough with 11 points, Kylie Folkwein with ten and Rachel Spalding with seven points.
Boardman led 13-9 after one quarter and 26-25 at intermission. However, Fitch outscored the Spartans 7-2 in the third quarter and forged a 32-28 lead over the hosts heading into the fourth quarter.
“Our kids really fought hard,” said Horacek. “I told them I was so proud of them at the end of the game.”
The Falcons took a five-point (40-35) lead over the Spartans following a basket by Folkwein with just 1:58 left in regulation. But Boardman responded with a 5-0 run and sent the game to overtime at 40-40 after Bero hit a clutch layup with just 34.7 seconds left.
“We found a way to get the rebound (after a missed free throw), and we found a way to get downhill, and then Sarah Bero tied the game (on a layup),” praised Hammerton. “That was so big that we were able to do that.”
Boardman sealed the deal in overtime when Riccitelli nailed a three-pointer just 20 seconds into the extra session. The Spartans never looked back while outscoring the Falcons 16-4 in the overtime.
“We didn’t do anything different in overtime, we just made shots,” said Hammerton.
“Some shots we usually make just didn’t fall at crucial times in the game,” stated Fitch’s Horacek. “Credit Boardman, they played very well the whole game and I thought our kids played really well the whole game and continued to play hard the whole time.”
Fitch captured the junior varsity contest by a 28-23 final.
What’s next for Boardman and Austintown Fitch?
Fitch travels to Howland Wednesday night in another key AAC contest.
Meanwhile, Boardman steps out of conference play Monday evening when it travels to Youngstown East to play the Golden Bears.
“It’s just another tough game,” said Hammerton. “We’re on what I like to call a West Coast road trip this week; we go to East, we go to Harding, and we go to Howland.”