The Wadsworth girls basketball team put an exclamation point on its dominance of the Suburban League with a 64-19 win over second-place Tallmadge on Saturday, clinching the league title for the 21st time in the past 23 years.
The Grizzlies (17-2, 12-0) raced to a 17-2, first-quarter advantage on the strength of an aggressive, pressing defense and were never seriously threatened by the Blue Devils (13-5, 8-4).
“I was surprised a little because Tallmadge had been playing well and we had not been getting off to good starts,” Wadsworth coach Andrew Booth said. “It was a point of emphasis for us before the game and our energy level was high and we maintained it throughout.”
Senior guard McKenzie O’Brien led a balanced Wadsworth scoring attack with 14 points. Senior forward Taylore Robinson added 12, senior guard Rachel Goddard had 10 and junior guard Peyton Booth had nine points for the Grizzlies.
“It was a collective effort,” Andrew Booth said. “We are a very unselfish team and we did a great job of making the extra pass. Our girls don’t care who the scoring leaders are, they just care about the end result.”
The end result was the Grizzlies’ fourth-consecutive league title, but that is just a start.
“Our goal for the last quarter of the season is to be on the ascent and to be playing our best at tournament time,” Booth said.
More girls basketball
North Canton Hoover 71, Jackson 52
Coupled with a victory Thursday night over Canton McKinley, the visiting Vikings (15-4, 11-1) clinched the Federal League title. Junior forward Julie Worley led the Vikings with 18 points, junior guard Kelsey Lensman had 17 points and junior forward Kaylee Stroemple had 15 points and seven rebounds.
Archbishop Hoban 78 Chardon NDCL 34
Meghan Donahue had a career-high 29 points, making all 13 of her shots from the floor, and the host Knights (14-4, 7-0 North Coast League) won their fourth consecutive game.
Stow 40, Mentor 38
Sophomore guard Sam Shaver led the Bulldogs (14-5, 3-5 NOC Valley Division) with 13 points.
Dalton 37, Tuslaw 35 (OT)
Morgan Merriman scored 13 points for the host Bulldogs (9-11, 5-7 WCAL).
St. Vincent-St. Mary 43, Canton Central Catholic 28
Junior center Jordan Korinek scored 14 points and junior guard Shannon added 10 for the visiting Irish (13-5).
Woodridge 50, Rootstown 46
Lizzie Wilkinson had 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the host Bulldogs (9-8, 7-5 PTC County Division).
Revere 59, Copley 29
Freshman Caitlin Vari scored 18 points for the host Minutemen (11-7, 8-4 Suburban League).
Highland 57, Nordonia 42
Junior forward Anna Rose Wiencek had 12 points and sophomore center Malory Adams added 10 for the host Hornets (12-7, 7-5 Suburban).
Ravenna 47, Coventry 30
The visiting Ravens used a balanced attack, and Courtney Cross led with 10 points.
Buchtel 40, Cleve. John Adams 47
Senior forward Daizha Ulmer led the host Griffins (9-11) with 12 points.
Youngstown East 56, Barberton 41
Freshman guard Macy Chik had 12 points for the host Magics (4-15), and senior guard Chmicka Kennedy added 10 points.
Wrestling
PAC-7 Championship
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy won the tournament title with eight champions: Ryan Bennett (113), Nathan Tomasello (120), Josh Decatur (126), Ricky Simonelli (138), Jeff Hojnacki (145), Matt Dobben (152), Tyler Mclellan (170), and Nick Havener (195).
Other champions were Wes Yoder (220) of Fairless, Joey Bowen (106) and Jake Hanzel (285) of Manchester, Dylan Marthey (132), D. J. Blair (160) and Scott Wohlheter (182) of Tuslaw.
North Coast League
Parma Padua (207.5) won the team championship.
Archbishop Hoban was third with two champions: Michael Belknap at 138 and Nick Schondel at 160.
Walsh Jesuit was fourth with 90 points and Alex Mackall (106) and Nolan Whitely (132) winning titles.
Northeast Ohio Conference
Brunswick edged Parma (160.5-159) for the team title.
Josh Heil (106) and Tyler Hughes (170) of the Blue Devils won individual championships.
Hudson, which finished fifth (137 points), also had two champions: Michael Coleman at 160 and Danny Tiley at 182. Joe Repasky (195) and Rudy Ware (220) of Cuyahoga Falls and Twinsburg’s Tyrone McGuinea (145) also won individual titles.
