DIV District @ Gnadenhutten

• Pariah

  Hiland vs. Beallsville
  
  One common opponent in Tusc Central Catholic. Beallsville beat them by 16 points. Hiland beat them by 74 and 40.
  
  
  Shadyside vs. Strasburg
  
  Battle of the Tigers. Shady would probably be considered the favorite, but the IVC Tigers have been playing well lately.
  
  
  Thoughts?
• bloozebrother

  shadyside playing bad lately. might have peaked too soon. have not seen strasburg play so really cant make a guess here. as far as hiland/beallsville, think this is a no brainer.
• bluishgreen

  i havent seen shadyside play but there not a #1 seed for no reason i wouldnt think, even tho lowellville disappointed me last year as a 1. i do remember shadyside playing hiland very tough last year but i dont remember too much height, id say that might make me swing towards strasburg cause they have a good chance of controlling the inside, if they can get some solid play from the guards and contain shadysides guards i think strasburg wins...but those are some big ifs, id sure like to see that game but unfortunately i cant
• Pariah

  Shady plays really hard. Last year they played a lot of zone. Not sure our IVC Tigers have the shooters to whip it, but if they can penetrate, they can get the ball to Bonifant and Clark inside.
  
  As for Hiland and Beallsville, I think Hilary Weaver has a chance for double digit steals tonight. That's my bold prediction. Wouldn't surprise me to see a triple double with pts, assists, and steals.
• bluishgreen

  well as anyone in the ivc knows, clark and bonifant dont sit back and wait for the ball in the zone...they flash foul line or even a little higher a lot and even foul line extented...then they both go to work in different ways...santana is lights out from the elbow or anywhere mid range and clark is cleaning every rebound up down low lol...itll be a very interesting game thats for sure...
• Pariah

  Yeah, I think the Tigers' game will be the best game of the semis.
  
  I have a lot of confidence in what Clark and Bonifant can do and Creagen has had several good games lately. But whether the Burg guards can play well is the question.
• Pariah

  I looked at the pairings for the regional. The Gnaden winner plays the Rootstown winner. That means a potential Hiland-Lutheran East matchup would come in the semis.
  
  Hubbard district plays Creston district.
  
  Gnaden teams: Hiland, Beallsville, Shadyside, Strasburg
  Rootstown teams: Lutheran East, Newbury, Kirtland, Berlin Center Western Reserve
  Hubbard teams: McDonald, Crestview, Warren JFK, Lowellville
  Creston teams: Hartville Christian, Mogadore, Cuyahoga Hts, Garlfield Hts Trinity
• bloozebrother

  if i were you i wouldn't worry about your guards play. shadyside's guards are a frosh(bonar), primarily a three point threat, and a senior point guard(haney) who isn't a scoring threat at all. both very quick, the frosh can score and the senior who has turnover problems but also can steal in a blink. our three post players are our strong point. johnson can be strong in post but also can step out and hit a three. meintel is the muscle, likes to bang around and neavin is good ten foot on in. our first player of the bench is also a frosh(holenka) can play either underneath or at a guard. sounds like it should be a dandy.
• Pariah

  Hiland won by 20. Were ahead by 30 at the end of 3 and then their 10-15 players finished the 4th.
  
  Nothing mysterious about the game except that I was watching Beallsville #4 drive and throw up prayers. She finsihed with 10 points on 4/21 shooting. I said, "Their coach must have given her the green light to throw up any kind of slop and hope it falls." Someone said, "Well, yeah. She's the coach's daughter." Then it made sense.
• bluishgreen

  i see clark and bonifant combined for 34 of strasburgs 50...congrats to the tigers, they deserve every bit of their success, no one works harder then those seniors and im glad to see them having success.
  
  as for the hiland last night...beallsville was very pysical with them but they just couldnt keep it up or match them on the skill level...
  
  and i will officially eat my crow as far as jessica stutzman is concerned, i was sceptical last year as to why she was even on the floor in the very same gym i seen her excel on last night...ive been told that she has more then just talent and she brings heart and intensity to the floor along with several other intangibles...and i am at this point agreeing, she isnt the most talented but she is truly irreplaceable...
• bluishgreen

  oh and i forgot to mention that i was very impressed with beallsvilles point, number 55. even tho i think she went thru a stretch in the 3rd qtr where she was pouting she was very solid. and i dont believe she ever left the floor...
• Pariah

  Yes, I was impressed with 55 as well. She handled the ball really well. Also impressed with the Blue Devil fans. A very enthusiastic bunch!
  
  We got the word that the Burg won. Congrats to them, but I didn't want to play them again a third time. Looks like Clark and Bonifant ate them up, and they put some good old IVC defense on Shady.
  
  The Hiland-Strasburg matchup is interesting. Hiland killed them at home 63-17 early in the season, and then had a "win and get the heck out of there" win at Strasburg later by a score of 57-44. The Tigers have played really well down the stretch. They play very hard and very physical, and while I don't think their confidence will be soaring going into this game, they aren't going to pee down their leg either. Their problem is in the guard matchups. Weaver and Yoder are going to combine for 30-40 points and they will get help off the bench. Also, Hiland will try to take away or limit Clark and Bonifant and make the others beat them.
  
  I see Strasburg being able to win if they get up early and get Hiland frustrated, they handle the pressure without very many TO's, Clark and Bonifant can have huge games scoring and rebounding, and if they get a big game from another player. That's a lot of ifs but they have a puncher's chance. I think it will be fairly close at half and then Hiland should pull away in the second.
  
  Coach Bonifant learned his lesson from a couple of years ago: no bulletin board material quotes in the paper just that they are glad be playing the Hawks and they relish the opportunity. We'll see how it plays out tomorrow.
• dblbogey

  ^^^Ha Ha the peeing down their leg part made me rotf and laugh, hilarious
• Pariah

  I try.
  
  You know what I mean, I hope. Some of these teams play Hiland and you can tell they are scared to death. I never see that with Strasburg. They are going to battle.
• ricola

  

  A boys/girls tourney Hiland/Strasburg double header.(on successive days that is). I don't think this is the first time that's happened.
• Pariah

  Hiland wins a spirited battle 63-42. Lady Hawks in control most of way. Hiland didn't help themselves by poor 3 point shooting, but they did plenty enough to win.
  
  Jess Stutz had a great game and Noelle and Hilary were too much, even though Yoder struggled some with her outside scoring.
  
  Carly Clark was so good for Strasburg. She's a class act and I will miss watching her play. I thought PG Hayden did a nice job considering the pressure she was under all night. I like their little frosh guard, Columbo. She's going to be a good one.
  
  Got a little chippy at one point with a Lady Hawk throwing some obvious elbows and connecting (but no calls). Don't see that very often with those girls. Asked her afterward and she said she was being pinched constantly on the abdomen and side while being defended. Confucius' 13th law of basketball says, "Player who play dirty gets to dine on cuisine of olecranon." The pinching stopped after 2 meals.
  
  Coach Bonifant is quoted in the Daily Record as saying he enjoys playing Hiland because it shows them what they have to do to improve their program. I think that's the right attitude, but he also said that they are "closing the gap" on Hiland. Not sure about that. The only reason they were competitive in that game at all (Clark) just played her last game and is taking her 20 points with her. They have closed the gap on Garaway, but they lost to Hiland by an average of 27 points this year. On the other hand, much of that 27 was due to an early season blowout when they weren't playing well. Coach S said that he thinks Strasburg is a top 10 DIV program, so they are doing something right there.
  
  Now let's see what the boys can do tonight. I have a feeling they have righted the ship and are going to come through against the male Tigers.