AKRON, Ohio — The game may not have gotten top billing, but did that matter to the victors? Absolutely not.
The girls teams from rivals Hoban and St. Vincent-St. Mary played Wednesday at the University of Akron’s JAR Arena as the first game of a girl-boy doubleheader. The Knights came alive in the second half and then held on for a hard-fought victory, 41-40, to remain unbeaten on the season.
Hoban, ranked No. 2 in the cleveland.com girls basketball Top 25, stands at 19-0, while the Fighting Irish, ranked No. 16, falls to 11-8.
“It’s just such a blessing to play a rivalry game in front of more fans than we’re ever going to play in front of in a regular season game,” Hoban coach Scott Callaghan said. “We knew we were the prelude to the boys game. But, as someone who teaches English, sometimes the prelude has all the meaning. That was meaningful for us and the kids.”
The game could be best described as ugly. The Knights made only 10 of 28 free throws, and both teams had long stretches where they had more turnovers than shots. Then again, isn’t that the way a rivalry game is supposed to be?
“That was one hard-fought game on both ends,” St. Vincent-St. Mary coach Carley Whitney said. “One thing our girls never do is give up. We play really hard, as does Hoban. We’re one of those teams that really grinds out every point. That’s just the kind of girls we have. You don’t expect anything less in a rivalry game, but we play that way every night.”
Hoban seemingly had the game in hand with a 41-37 lead with 42 seconds to play and possession of the ball. But the Knights turned the ball over while attempting to throw over the St. Vincent-St. Mary press, and then fouled Irish sophomore Tezjah Brooks as she made a 3-pointer from the left side.
“We had the ball up four, and really, all we needed to do was inbound the ball, but we did something we hadn’t done all year,” Callaghan said. “But I loved how we responded to that adversity. We could have easily been mentally and spiritually defeated by that.”
Brooks missed the free throw that could have tied the game, and neither team scored the rest of the way. Missed free throws was a common theme -- the Irish only made half of their 12 attempts.
“Honestly, over the last two days we shot more free throws than we have ever shot,” Callaghan said. “I thought that I had come up with a really good drill to simulate game situations. Needless to say, I’m going to have to go back to the drawing board.”
Hoban played well in the opening quarter, which ended with the Knights holding a 13-9 lead. But the second period was another story. While the Knights were committing 10 turnovers, freshman Lanae Riley took the game, personally outscoring Hoban, 12-3, as the Irish opened a 21-16 halftime lead.
Things changed in the third quarter, which ended with the Knights clinging to a 29-27 lead. Hoban had only one turnover in the period, and leading scorer Lonasia Brewer, held to two points in the first half, started finding her game.
“It was all in our heads,” Brewer said. “We were all scared and nervous. But in the second half we stayed together as a team and got it done. In the first half we did not follow our game plan at all. Coach just told us to get out of our heads. It’s about the game plan. Just stay together and play for your sisters.”
Brewer led the Knights with 12 points and nine rebounds. Megan Hutson added seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds, as Hoban enjoyed a 35-23 advantage in rebounds.
St. Vincent-St. Mary was led by Riley with 20 points, 18 in the first half, and Sophia Williams added nine points.
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