Erick Starkey/News
Utica’s Taylor Heckman (1) works to blow past Johnstown’s Ryan Helmke (4) in a 46-35 Redskin win in the district semi-finals Tuesday.
NEWARK — The Utica Redskins girls basketball team overcame a slow start Tuesday to hold on to a 46-35 win over the Johnstown Johnnies, the third time this season, to move on to the district finals against Africentric.
“I knew we were going to be in it for a battle. It’s been a battle all three games,” Utica coach Terry Logue said. “They play hard. Those Johnstown girls don’t leave anything out on the floor. They play hard.”
Utica’s offense was disjointed in the opening minutes, quickly falling into a 10-4 hole, with Johnstown’s Lauren Hursey and Lauren Layman each pouring four points in the opening frame.
“I think we were a little too excited to begin with,” Logue said. “We’ve started that way every game against them.”
The Redskins settled into their offense and Emily Londot got cooking to power her team to 10-straight points, taking a 14-10 lead after the first eight minutes.
Londot duplicated her six points from the first quarter again in the second on another three buckets to lead the Redskins to nine in the frame. Three different Johnnies scored in the second, with a three from Layman, but Utica had a 9-6 edge in the second to head into the locker room up 23-16.
The Johnstown defense showed up strong in the third quarter. The Johnnies used full-court pressure to stifle the Redskin offense and limit it to only six points, all from Londot. Ashley Schneider led the Johnnies with six points in the quarter and after an 8-6 margin, Johnstown chipped into the lead, 29-24.
“We didn’t line up correctly on the offensive end, as far as press break,” Logue said. “It was a little frustrating, because we’ve been going over that.”
Utica figured out how to crack the Johnnie defense in the final quarter, exploding for 17 points. Taylor Heckman and Sydney Hoover each hit a trey and Heckman accounted for nine points in the quarter. The Redskins were paraded to the line for 13 free-throw attempts, where they sank eight of them. Johnstown had its highest scoring output in the fourth, with Layman’s five points leading the way to an 11-point effort by the team.
Londot led all scorers with 21 points, which she paired with 13 boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Heckman kicked in 13 points, three boards, an assist and three steals. Hoover splashed home a pair of 3-pointers for six points and Shawna Blake and Brianna Parmer combined for the remaining six points. Hoover and Blake each had three assists on the night.
Layman led the Johnnies with 14 points, including six from behind the arc. She also topped her team’s stat sheet with nine rebounds. Schneider finished with eight points and three steals. Hursey turned in five points, before suffering an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, and Ryan Helmke had four points. Sophia Sahr and Michaela Carter each nailed a bucket.
The Redskins advance to the district final game Friday at 6 p.m. at Ohio Dominican University against Africentric. The Nubians have steamrolled their way through the postseason so far, winning three games by a combined score of 236-41.
“We’re going to go battle. We’re going to put ourselves in a position to win,” Logue said. “Obviously, they’re one of the best teams not only in the state, but the whole United States. ... Our girls know it’s going to be a bigger challenge.”
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“We didn’t line up correctly on the offensive end, as far as press break,” Logue said. “It was a little frustrating, because we’ve been going over that.”
Utica figured out how to crack the Johnnie defense in the final quarter, exploding for 17 points. Taylor Heckman and Sydney Hoover each hit a trey and Heckman accounted for nine points in the quarter. The Redskins were paraded to the line for 13 free-throw attempts, where they sank eight of them. Johnstown had its highest scoring output in the fourth, with Layman’s five points leading the way to an 11-point effort by the team.
Londot led all scorers with 21 points, which she paired with 13 boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Heckman kicked in 13 points, three boards, an assist and three steals. Hoover splashed home a pair of 3-pointers for six points and Shawna Blake and Brianna Parmer combined for the remaining six points. Hoover and Blake each had three assists on the night.
Layman led the Johnnies with 14 points, including six from behind the arc. She also topped her team’s stat sheet with nine rebounds. Schneider finished with eight points and three steals. Hursey turned in five points, before suffering an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, and Ryan Helmke had four points. Sophia Sahr and Michaela Carter each nailed a bucket.
The Redskins advance to the district final game Friday at 6 p.m. at Ohio Dominican University against Africentric. The Nubians have steamrolled their way through the postseason so far, winning three games by a combined score of 236-41.
“We’re going to go battle. We’re going to put ourselves in a position to win,” Logue said. “Obviously, they’re one of the best teams not only in the state, but the whole United States. ... Our girls know it’s going to be a bigger challenge.”
