CCHS celebrates seniors, concludes regular season by defeating Big Red
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STEUBENVILLE -- Catholic Central raced out to a big halftime lead, then held on down the stretch to earn a 48-40 senior night victory over city-rival Steubenville Monday night inside the Mickey Barber Gymnasium.
With the win, the Crusaders gained a split in the 2019-20 city series (Steubenville posted a 49-45 triumph earlier in the campaign) and finished their regular season at 14-8. Big Red, which again played without injured starters Madison Fields and Elexis Martin, falls to 11-10.
"I'm really happy for our seniors," Central coach Jess Looman said. "It was great for them to get a win on senior night, especially against our city rival.
"We started really strong, and that ended up making the difference. I wasn't sure how the girls were going to respond following a tough loss in the OVAC championship game on Saturday."
Central, thanks to eight points from senior post Hannah Olszewski, stormed out to a 15-6 lead after the opening period. Looman's crew was solid on both ends of the floor during the second quarter, scoring 15 more points and holding Big Red to just three. Olszewski and fellow seniors Isabella Oliver and Edy Harold recorded four points each, as the Crusaders went into the intermission up 30-9.
"I thought we put together a really strong first half," Looman said. "We played together, and we played good team ball on both ends of the floor.
"In the second half, however, we seemed to let up a little. We had a lot of unforced turnovers, and Big Red capitalized on our mistakes. Big Red took advantage of our weaknesses and made it really tough for us."
Jeff Lombardo's Big Red got its offense going in the third, outscoring Central 13-3. Senior Myla Gulan swished a pair of bonus bombs, and talented freshman Kylie Maxwell added five points. The Crusader lead was cut to 11 (33-22) with eight minutes to go.
"It was senior night for Central, so we knew they would come out excited and intense," Lombardo said. "We're not good enough right now with our current personnel to get out worked. Before the game, we talked about the need to outwork them, be more physical and not back down. In the first half, we didn't have much energy. We were missing shots, and that carried over to the defensive end.
"At halftime, we got after them. I told them I didn't care if we scored the rest of the game -- the bottom line was on the defensive end we had to get after it more, start getting the 50-50 balls and start playing harder than Central because we're not good enough right now to get outworked."
Central opened the fourth with a hoop by Oliver, but connections from behind the arc by Aubrey Thompson and Gulan pulled the visitors to within seven. The Crusaders responded with long-distance bombs by Katie Zatta, senior Carly Fayak and Olszewski, who banked home her 3-pointer.
"We spend a lot of time in practice shooting," Looman said. "It was nice we were able to pull away with those threes. I'm not sure Hannah has ever hit a 3 in her life. When she banked in that shot, it really boosted our momentum."
Big Red rallied again thanks to a Maggi Cucarese 3-pointer and hoops by Maxwell and Anaiya Minniefield. An Olszewski putback finally sealed the deal for Central.
"We did a much better job of playing harder in the second half and making Central a little more uncomfortable," Lombardo said. "Again, that's because we started making shots, but there are two sides of the court. You're not always going to be hitting, and when you're not hitting, you still have to bring in on the defensive end. And, if you're not hitting and you still bring it on defense, good things start to happen.
"In the first half, we were feeling sorry for ourselves because we were missing shots. We were getting outworked on the defensive end, and you can't have that."
Olszewski took game-scoring honors with 17 points. Zatta finished with 12 and Oliver 10, to go along with 11 rebounds.
Maxwell had 12 to pace Big Red. Gulan netted nine and Thompson eight.
As a team, the Crusaders finished with 32 rebounds, Olszewski snaring nine.
"In the past, we matched up well with Central because of our size and physicality," Lombardo said. "Tonight, our size and physicality for the most part was sitting on the bench. Against some teams, that's OK, but not against Central. They have a physical post player, and Bella is just a fantastic two-way player. If she gets someone smaller on her, she'll be aggressive on the boards. If she has someone bigger on her, she steps to the outside and takes the defender off the dribble.
"Central is a tough matchup for us. But, again, you can be outsized but can still box out. If they are stronger than you, that's fine, but you better box out. In the first half, we didn't do that. You just can't turn and look and expect the ball to come to you, and that's what we did early in the game."
GAME NOTES
¯ Prior to the varsity tip, Central honored its four seniors in Fayak, Harold, Oliver and Olszewski.
"I want to thank the seniors for giving this program four strong years," Looman said. "They've just been a joy to coach. They're great kids, and they come from great families. It's been wonderful getting to know them and their parents. They definitely will be missed."
¯ Big Red rolled to a 22-11 victory in the two-quarter junior varsity contest. Katie Valentine led the winners with eight points. Theresa Kerker and Ellen Rhode had four apiece for Central.
UP NEXT
Big Red: Will celebrate senior night when it hosts Harrison Central Thursday. The two-quarter JV game starts at 6 p.m. Lombardo's club then will open Division II tournament play Saturday at home against Minerva.
"It might be close for Thursday," Lombardo said when discussing the return of Fields and Martin. "If everything goes well, hopefully both should be back for Saturday."
Central: Idle until Feb. 20 when it entertains Zanesville Bishop Rosecrans in the Division IV sectional.
"We'll give the girls a few days off then get back in the gym and start preparing for what should be a tough test in Rosecrans," Looman said. "Hopefully, we can get another win at home and move on to the second round."
Catholic Central 48, Steubenville 40
Steubenville 6-3-13-18 -- 40
Central 15-15-3-15 -- 48
STEUBENVILLE (11-10): Thompson 3 1-2 8; Gulan 3 0-0 9; Cucarese 1 0-0 3; Maxwell 5 2-7 12; Minniefield 3 1-3 7; Blackwell 0 0-0 0; Hill 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 15, 4-15: 40.
CENTRAL (14-8): Zatta 3 3-4 12; Harold 2 0-0 4; Green 0 2-2 2; Rohde 0 0-0 0; Fayak 1 0-2 3; Grimm 0 0-0 0; Oliver 3 4-6 10; Kirkpatrick 0 0-0 0; Olszewski 8 0-1 17. TOTALS: 17, 9-15: 48.
3-POINT GOALS: Steubenville 5 (Gulan 3; Thompson; Cucarese); Central 5 (Zatta 3; Fayak; Olszewski).