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Toronto girls bow out early

SHADYSIDE — Shadyside took the first step Thursday night on what it hopes is an extended postseason run.

The Tigers advanced to Saturday’s sectional co-final by pounding visiting Toronto, 71-34. Much of the second half was played under the new OHSAA mercy rule in which the clock continues to run (save timeouts and injuries) when the lead mushrooms to 35 points after intermission.

Coach Serge Gentile’s No. 4-seeded charges will now play host to Bridgeport, a 64-46 winner over Beallsville. The 17-6 Tigers showed no signs of a 12-day layoff as they dominated from the outset.

Shadyside — making the most of its tenacious fullcourt pressure and a well-balanced offense — tallied the game’s first 15 points. Toronto did not dent the scoreboard until 2:58 remained in the opening quarter.

The hosts stretched their edge to 24-4 after one quarter and bumped it to 44-12 at halftime. The Tigers owned a 66-23 cushion entering the final chapter.

“I was happy that we came out strong and showed no signs of a long layoff. We pressured well and made shots early,” Gentile said. “We played well and were able to play a lot of girls. It was a nice start to the postseason.”

Shadyside exhibited textbook offensive balance, placing 11 players into the scoring column with three reaching double digits.

Senior Haylee Gregan led the way with 17 points, 13 coming in the third period. Freshman dandy Tori Hendershot was next with 12 lightings, while junior standout Syd Destifanes delivered 11 counters. Jaycee Mayeres chipped in with nine tallies, while blue-chip frosh Baylee Wach netted seven points.

Toronto closed out its season at 8-15. Jozaeyah Jordan led the Red Knights with 13 points.

“Shadyside is a very good team. They have a lot of talent and are very deep,” Toronto coach Rusty Hodgkiss said. “Their pressure really hurt us, and it led to a lot of easy buckets for them. We could never settle into our offense.

“Our year went pretty much as expected. I was hoping to get to 10 wins if we could win a couple of games that we weren’t expected to win, but we are a young team. We start two freshmen and play two others.”

Shadyside’s suffocating defense resulted in 26 Toronto turnovers, 19 coming prior to halftime. The Tigers, meanwhile, committed just nine miscues.

The Tigers will be looking to pull off the hat trick against Bridgeport, already besting the Bulldogs twice in the regular season. Gentile, however, knows his club is facing a much-improved squad.

“Bridgeport is playing well. They closed the regular season on a roll,” Gentile said. “Their win against Beallsville tonight is impressive.

Shadyside 71, Toronto 34

Toronto 4-8-11-11 — 34

Shadyside 24-20-22-5 — 71

TORONTO: Thomas 1, 0-0 2; Jordan 3, 7-9 13 McDonald 2, 0-3 4; Kinsey 2, 2-7 6; Anderson 1, 0-0 2; Yarosz 0, 1-2 1; Roach 1, 0-0 2; Fogle 2, 0-2 4; Leasure 0 0-1 0. TOTALS: 12, 10-22: 34.

SHADYSIDE: Destifanes 3, 2-2 11; T. Hendershot 6, 0-2 12; Coffland 1, 2-5 5; Steen 0, 1-2 1; Cicogna 1, 0-0 3; Wach 2, 2-2 7; J. Hendershot 1, 0-0 3; Mayeres 3, 3-4 9; Selmon 0, 1-2 1; Teasdale 0, 0-0 0; Gregan 7, 0-0 17; Stewart 0, 0-0 0; Elerick 1, 0-0 2; Osman 0, 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25, 11-19: 71.

3-POINT GOALS: Toronto (0); Shadyside (10) — Destifanes (3), Gregan (3), Coffland (1), Wach (1), Cicogna (1); J. Hnedershot (1).

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