---- — There’s only one way being swept in the regular-season home-and-home Region 5-AAA rivalry will be palatable for Hickory High girls’ basketball team:

“ ... I hope we play again. That would be in the District 10 finals, and that would be just tremendous, as far as I’m concerned,” veteran  head coach Bill Hager said following Franklin’s 46-30 win Thursday night.

At The Hive in Hermitage, Franklin frosted the Lady Hornets’ offense. Hickory hit only 9 of 48 floor shots (19 percent) and committed 11 miscues — 5 during the 4th frame.

Hickory was without a pair of frontline regulars in Jenna Placzek (nose) and Nicole Lacava (shoulder), so the visiting Lady Knights nestled about Hickory post Holly Grober. With the Lady Hornets not hitting from the perimeter Franklin collapsed its defense, and Grober did not get the ball in her normal comfort zones.

“I thought we played a great defensive game against them (Thursday) night, and I thought we played a great defensive game the first time (a 48-36 win at Frankllin, in which Hickory had only 11 field goals).

“Two great teams like this going head to head, offense is gonna struggle, but I thought we played really well offensively,” Hager continued. “From the foul line we shot extremely well (13 of 14), and we hit some big shots, especially in the first half.”

Grober garnered 13 points while Nikki Arbanas added 12, but they they were a collective 7 for 27 from the field, and the rest of the Lady Hornets hit only 2 floor shots. Grober grabbed 7 rebounds, as did Brandi Beader.

“Our main emphasis of our defense was Grober first and Arbanas second,” Hager related. “You have to keep (Arbanas) from shooting the three’s, then you have to guard the heck out of Grober wherever she’s at. We tried to double her when we could and help as much as we could, and I thought we did a great job of that.”

“We certainly missed both Nicole and Jenna; it certainly makes us a smaller team,” Hickory head coach Jeanette Whitehead asserted, “but I thought the girls that had to step in their shoes played with a lot of heart, hustled, and gave me everything that they had. I’m proud of their effort.

“Unfortunately, we were not able to put the ball in the hole,” Whitehead admitted. “(The Lady Knights) took away some open tendencies that maybe we generally get. Credit their defense. But I thought we had a lot of good, open looks. There were times when (shots) were rushed, but for the most part I thought we had some open looks and not fortunate enough to knock ’em down.

“At times our girls showed patience when we needed patience and we got shots that I certainly would’ve taken; but rather, it was the intensity from the defense that rushed us.” Whitehead said.

For Franklin (9-0, 16-1), Haley Andres annexed 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, point guard Mara Benvenuti — bouncing back from an ACL tear — dished out a handful of assists and added 8 points, Angelina Starr’s 6-for-6 fourth-frame free-throw marksmanship offset an uncharacteristic 1-for-13 shooting performance, Laken Shields distributed 4 more assists, and Tenasia Law lent 5 points and snared 7 caroms. Franklin finished 15 for 44 from the floor (34 percent), with a dozen turnovers.

To date, scant setbacks for Hickory (6-2, 14-3) have occurred to a pair of 1-loss clubs in Franklin and Canfield. A rematch for the District 10 Class AAA crown is the Lady Hornets’ whole focus at this juncture.

“Right now we just have to lick our wounds, regroup, and get ourselves back,” Whitehead said. “That would be wonderful ... Franklin is certinaly a great, great team, with great shooting and scoring power. Defensively, we maybe held them to their season low, but we just have to find a way to put the ball in the hole.

“But that would be a great thing, if we could meet each other in the playoffs,” Whitehead wistfully added.

Echoed Hager, “It’s a great win for us, but I have such great respect for Jeanette and what she does. She’s a great coach, so I’m just happy to get a win here. I hope we play again, that’d be in the District 10 finals.” — By Ed Farrell, Herald assistant sports editor.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

ä Kennedy Catholic 59, Reynolds 6 — At Hermitage, Rachel Burns scored her 1,000th career point and KC (7-0, 17-2) rolled to the Region 1-A victory over the Lady Raiders (2-4, 4-12).

Alex Ricketts fired in 20 points for the Lady Golden Eagles while Burns bucketed 15 and reached 1,000 points in the 3rd quarter. She now has 1,001 points.

“I’m proud of her to come back (torn ACL in PIAA playoffs last season vs. Vincentian Academy)” said KC coach and her father Tom Burns. “It’s a heck of an accomplishment to reach 1,000 after an ACL tear.”

Brooke Bresnan led the Lady Raiders with 3 points.

ä Commodore Perry 48, Jamestown 26 — At Sheakleyville, the Lady Panthers (4-3, 8-10) won their 3rd straight game in a Region 1-A clash vs. the winless Lady Muskies (0-7, 0-18).

Kate Powell scored 16 while Stephanie Vaughn bucketed 13 for CP, which beat Farrell Monday and Youngsville on Wednesday. Also, Lexi Grinnell had 7 points and 5 assists and Emily Kitchen registered 8 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Mikayla Keyser scored 9 points for Jamestown.

ä Farrell 42, Rocky Grove 27 — At Farrell’s E.J. McCluskey Gymnasium, coach Ed Turosky’s Lady Steelers (4-3, 10-8) led 9-0 after the opening quarter and cruised to the Region 1-A win.

Whitney Murray rifled in 18 points for Farrell and Nahzia Polk scored 10.

Christina Schiffer tallied 10 points to lead the Lady Orioles (3-3, 8-10).

ä Sharon 59, Lakeview 26 — At Sharon High’s Tiger Gymnasium, the Lady Tigers (6-2, 10-6) held a 24-4 lead after 8 minutes of play and rolled past the Lady Sailors (1-8, 5-13) in the Region 2-AA encounter.

Tanayja Sanders rifled in 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Sharon, Mallory Torr tallied 15 points and 8 boards and Kristina Jacoway added 8 points and 6 steals.

Raygan Fischer led Lakeview with 10 points.

ä West Middlesex 28, Greenville 16 — At West Middlesex, the Ms. Reds (2-7, 7-11) won a defensive struggle against the Lady Trojans (3-6, 5-11) in Region 2-AA play.

Alexis Summers scored 12 points for WM, while Jessica Burnett bucketed 7 for Greenville.

ä Mercer 41, Wilmington 26 — At New Wilmington, the visiting M’s rode Alexis Arkwright’s game-high 20-point performance that included a handful of buckets from beyond the 3-point line.

Also for Mercer (6-2, 13-5) in the wire-to-wire win, Megan McKinney mustered 10 markers.

Wilmington (4-5, 6-11) was led by Alana Elliott’s 9 points.

ä Grove City 53, Titusville 30 — At The Eagles’ Nest, the Lady Eagles (5-3, 12-6) clinched a winning record and at least 4th place in Region 5-AAA standings. In doing so, Grove City remains in the hunt for one of the final AAA playoff berths, battling rival Slippery Rock, Harbor Creek and Conneaut for those elusive invitations.

Grove City did so by limiting Titusville (0-8, 2-15) to just 20 percent shooting (7-of-35). Meanwhile, the Lady Eagles were much better offensively, knocking down 22-of-48 shots and pulling down close to a dozen offensive rebounds.

Grove City boasted a balanced scoring sheet, with Corianne Hyduchak leading the way with 17 points and 5 rebounds, while Jenn Ferguson tacked on 8 points and 10 rebounds. Arianna Sprando and Jordyn Wyllie evenly split 18 points with Wyllie pulling down 7 boards.

Titusville was led by Grace Champion and Carly Kriner, who scored 10 and 9 points, respectively — By sports correspondent Corey J. Corbin.

ä Brookfield 49, Youngstown Christian School 38 — At Brookfield, coach Shawn Hammond’s Lady Warriors improved to 6-8 with the 11-point win over YCS.

Kayla Boyer bucketed a game-high 21 points for Brookfield, while Toi Brown’s 10 points paced YCS.

ä Commodore Perry 38, Youngsville 29 — At Sheakleyville  on Wednesday, the Lady Panthers were led by Vaughn who scored 13 points, including 4 treys, and Kitchen with 10 markers.

BOYS BASKETBALL

ä Conneaut Area 48, Greenville 45 — At Conneaut Wednesday, Noah Uplinger poured in 28 points to carry the home team to victory.

For Greenville (4-12), Nate Houpt tallied 21 points, including a pair of treys.

ä VisionQuest 80, Wilmington 62 — At Franklin Wednesday night, Demetrius McLennan rifled in 31 points as VQ rolled. Also, Abdur Amin buried 4 treys en route to 14 points for the Eagles, Jaleel Adams scored 12 and Izeem Hunter tallied 11 markers.

Nate Anthony scored 20 to lead the Hounds (5-11) and Jordan Smith registered 13 points.

WRESTLING

ä Maplewood 40, Sharpsville 27 — At Sharpsville, the Blue Devils fell to 11-10 with the loss to the Tigers.

Joey Pagliaroli (138) and Kaleb Robertson (285) had falls for Sharpsville.

ä Commodore Perry 28, West Middlesex 27 — At West Middlesex Wednesday, the Panthers pulled out the tight victory in a match loaded with forfeits or double forfeits.

Tony Leonard (132) had a fall for CP, while Eric Lucich (170), Lucas Combine (285) and Aiden Bellucci (120) recorded pins for WM.



GIRLS BASKETBALL

FRANKLIN    13    8    13    12    46

HICKORY    7    6    6    11    30

  FRANKLIN — Andres 5-2-3-13, Benvenuti 2-4-4-8, Shields 2-0-0-4, Starr 1-6-6-9, Law 2-1-1-5, Gravatt 2-0-0-5, Peiffer 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Andres 1, Starr 1, Gravatt 1. Totals: 15-13-14-46.

  HICKORY — Arbanas 3-4-4-12, Shephard 0-0-0-0, Grober 4-5-9-13, Chess 0-0-0-0, Beader 1-0-0-3, White 0-0-0-0, Moore 1-0-2-2. 3-pt. goals: Arbanas 2, Beader 1. Totals: 9-9-14-30.

 JV — Hickory, 39-17. Elana Marchand 14, Katie Gustas 11 points for Hickory; Carla Cintron 8 for Franklin.

———

REYNOLDS    4    0    0    2    6

KENNEDY    19    16    15    9    59

REYNOLDS — Ringer 0-0-0-0, Bresnan 1-1-4-3, McDanel 1-0-0-2, Napadano 0-1-2-1, Campbell 0-0-0-0, Babcock 0-0-0-0, Burnworth 0-0-0-0, Toy 0-0-0-0, Greenfield 0-0-0-0, Foster 0-0-0-0, Yahner 0-0-0-0, Cutshaw 0-0-0-0. Totals: 2-2-6-6.

KENNEDY CATHOLIC — O’Brien 0-1-2-1, Kress 2-0-0-4, Hood 4-0-0-8, Kish 2-0-0-5, Burns 5-2-2-15, Ricketts 9-0-2-20, Bocian 3-0-0-6. 3-pt. goals: Burns 3, Ricketts 2, Kish 1. Totals: 25-3-6-59.

JV — KC, 54-8. Tatum Kress 12, April Bocian 11 for Kennedy.

———

JAMESTOWN    4    2    9    11    26

COMM. PERRY    8    15    15    10    48

JAMESTOWN — Harnett 1-3-4-5, Liszka 0-0-1-0, Robinson 4-0-0-8, Keyser 4-1-2-9, Sankey 1-2-4-4. Totals: 10-6-11-26.

COMMODORE PERRY — Powell 4-6-12-16, Campbell 2-0-0-4, L. Grinnell 3-1-2-7, Kitchen 3-2-4-8, Vaughn 5-0-0-13, S. Nagy 0-0-2-0, A. Nagy 0-0-0-0, Beachy 0-0-0-0, Sernik 0-0-0-0, J. Stringert 0-0-0-0, S. Stringert 0-0-0-0, Turner 0-0-0-0, Free 0-0-0-0, Myers 0-0-0-0, Brantner 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Vaughn 3, Powell 2. Totals: 17-9-20-48.

JV — CP, 40-25. Shae Grinnell 12 for CP.

———

ROCKY GROVE    0    5    9    13    27

FARRELL    9    6    10    17    42

ROCKY GROVE — Lepley 2-0-0-4, Nerlich 2-0-0-4, Larsen 2-0-0-4, Schiffer 4-2-7-10, Saltzler 0-3-4-3, Holden 1-0-1-2. Totals: 11-5-12-27.

FARRELL — Johntae Scott 1-2-3-4, Oatis 0-0-4-0, Avery 2-1-4-5, Polk 5-0-5-10, Page 0-1-2-1, Sharper 1-0-0-2, Smith 0-2-2-2, Murray 6-6-12-18. Totals: 15-12-32-42.

JV — No game.

———

LAKEVIEW    4    4    12    6    26

SHARON    24    14    19    2    59

LAKEVIEW — Stringer 1-4-4-6, Adams 1-0-0-2, Foster 1-0-0-2, Fischer 4-2-2-10, Kasbee 1-0-1-2, Ruediger 0-0-2-0, Davis 0-2-2-2, Gravatt 1-0-0-2. Totals: 9-8-11-26.

SHARON — Mal. Torr 6-2-2-15, Jacoway 3-2-4-8, Chester 2-2-4-6, Dabney 2-0-0-5, McGranahan 1-0-2-2, Reed 1-0-0-2, Sanders 9-3-5-21. 3-pt. goals: Mal. Torr 1, Dabney 1. Totals: 24-9-17-59.

JV — Sharon, 42-34. Maggie Torr 17 for Sharon. Samantha Womer 13, Raygan Fischer 10 for Lakeview.

———

GREENVILLE    2    0    6    8    16

W.MIDDLESEX    7    6    8    7    28

GREENVILLE — Marini 1-0-0-2, Williams 2-0-1-4, Herrick 1-0-0-2, Burnett 3-0-0-7, Montalvo 0-1-2-1. 3-pt. goal: Burnett 1. Totals: 7-1-3-16.

WEST MIDDLESEX — Murray 2-0-4-4, Atterholt 1-0-0-2, Stitt 2-2-3-6, Summers 5-1-2-12, Pierce 1-0-0-3, White 0-1-2-1. 3-pt. goals: Summers 1, Pierce 1. Totals: 11-4-11-28.

JV — Greenville, 36-28. Jillian Herrick 14 for Greenville. Morgan Atterholt 21 for WM.

———

TITUSVILLE    6    7    5    12    30

GROVE CITY    9    15    11    18    53

TITUSVILLE — Scott 1-0-0-2, Champion 1-7-11-10, Kriner 2-5-6-9, Mabugu 1-1-2-3, Donovan 0-1-2-1, Popham 1-0-1-2, Harger 0-0-0-0, Moore 0-0-0-0, Foltz 1-0-0-3. 3-pt. goals: Champion 1, Foltz 1. Totals: 7-14-22-30.

GROVE CITY — Hyduchak 7-3-8-17, Wyllie 2-5-6-9, Hall 0-0-0-0, Ferguson 4-0-2-8, Sprando 4-1-2-9, Lucido 2-0-0-4, A. Deyarmin 2-0-0-4, Hughes 1-0-0-2, Wolfe 0-0-0-0, Burtch 0-0-0-0, Ryder 0-0-0-0, Young 0-0-1-0, Grace 0-0-0-0. Totals: 22-9-19-53.

JV — Titusville, 39-33. Alexis Deyarmin 10 for GC.

———

MERCER    11    14    9    7    41

WILMINGTON    8    5    6    10    26

MERCER — Whenry 2-2-2-6, Arkwright 6-3-4-20, Mills 0-0-0-0, McKinney 5-0-0-10, Cook 1-0-0-2, Ryder 0-0-0-0, Angermeier 1-1-2-3, Shoemaker 0-0-0-0, Zacherl 0-0-0-0, Ferguson 0-0-0-0. 3-pt goals: Arkwright 5. Totals: 15-6-8-41.

WILMINGTON — Christofferson 2-0-0-5, Slonaker 1-2-2-4, Sikora 2-4-6-8, Marett 1-0-2-2, Elliott 3-2-2-9, Drake 0-0-0-0, Thompson 0-1-2-1. 3-pt. goals: Christofferson 1, Elliott 1. Totals: 8-7-12-26.

JV — No score reported.

———

YG. CHRISTIAN    4    9    16    9    38

BROOKFIELD    14    9    12    14    49

  YOUNGSTOWN CHRISTIAN — Chiconoski 2-0-0-4, Snyder 0-1-4-1, Rios 2-4-6-8, Hoclzel 1-0-0-2, Patmon 0-0-0-0, Harris 1-3-7-5, Brown 2-6-14-10, Armour 0-0-0-0, Moyer 3-2-6-8. Totals: 11-16-37-38.

  BROOKFIELD — Hawley 1-2-4-4, Boyer 7-7-8-21, DiCristofaro 0-1-2-1, Ash. Kirila 2-3-9-7, Thompson 2-0-0-6, Harpster 0-0-0-0, Corns 0-0-2-0, Foster 0-0-0-0, May 0-0-0-0, Saxton 3-2-7-8, Hiner 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Thompson 2. Totals: 14-15-32-49.

  JV — Brookfield, 41-18.

———

YOUNGSVILLE    8    29

COMM PERRY    21    38

YOUNGSVILLE  — Hendrickson 0, Anderson 0, Maille 2, Ka. Cratty 14, Chuzie 3, Jameson 0, Ke. Cratty 10. 3-pt. goals: Chuzie 1.

COMMODORE PERRY — Powell 4, Cambell 2, L. Grinnell 8, Kitchen 10, A. Nagy 0, Beachy 0, Vaughn 13, Sernik 1, S. Nagy 0. 3-pt. goals: Vaughn 4.

JV — Commodore Perry, 43-14.



BOYS BASKETBALL

GREENVILLE    8    5    14    18    45

CONNEAUT    16    12    5    15    48

GREENVILLE — Fattman 0-0-0-0, Houpt 7-5-5-21, M.Jones 0-0-0-0, Ferguson 1-0-0-2, Addison 0-0-0-0, Reiser 0-0-0-0, A.Jones 3-2-4-8, VanAken 1-0-0-2, Zavala 0-0-0-0, Emmett 4-1-1-9, McErlane 1-0-0-3, Riggle 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Houpt 2, McErlane 1. Totals: 17-8-10-45.

CONNEAUT AREA — Martini 1-1-4-3, Smith 1-1-2-3, Uplinger 11-6-8-28, Holcomb 0-6-9-6, Boyce 1-1-2-3, Braen 2-0-1-5, Merritt 0-0-0-0, Gallo 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Braden 1. Totals: 17-13-26-48.

JV — Greenville, 45-40.

———

WILMINGTON    16    12    15    19    62

VISIONQUEST    18    20    19    23    80

WILMINGTON — Taylor 0-0-0-0, J. Smith 2-9-11-13, Onestak 1-0-0-2, Hilliard 2-4-4-8, T. Brumbaugh 1-1-4-3, Anthony 7-6-10-20, R. Brumbaugh 4-1-1-9, Fagan 1-1-2-4, Bloise 0-3-5-3. 3-pt. goal: Fagan 1. Totals: 18-25-37-62.

VISIONQUEST — Adams 6-0-0-12, Hunter 5-1-2-11, McDonald 1-0-0-2, McLennan 15-1-4-31, Amin 5-0-0-14, Harris 4-0-0-8, Gonzales 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Amin 4. Totals: 37-2-6-80.

JV — No score reported.



WRESTLING

C. PERRY 28, W. MIDDLESEX 27

132 -- Tony Leonard (CP) pinned Gavin Kroesen, 5:38; 138 -- Zane Chimiak major dec. David Cook, 11-3; 145 -- Tristen Kuzior (CP) forfeit; 152 -- Tyler Osborne (CP) forfeit; 160 -- Luke Hemminger (WM) forfeit; 170 -- Eric Lucich (WM) pinned Alex Mozes, 1:09; 182,- 195, 220 -- double forfeits; 285 -- Lucas Combine (WM) pinned Jeff  Mott, 4:32; 106 -- double forfeit; 113 - Mitchell Murray (WM) dec. Tim Lusk, 5-3 (OT); 120 -- Aiden Bellucci (WM) pinned John Herrmann, 2:35; 126 -- Brandon Dick (WM) forfeit.

———

MAPLEWOOD 40, SHARPSVILLE 27

195 — Cody Hughes (S) dec. Isaiah Stearns, 2-0; 220 — Austin Binkert (M) dec. Jake Llewellyn, 2-0; 285 — Kaleb Robertson (S) pinned Tim Galford, 1:26; 106 — Andy Ryan (S) forfeit; 113 — David Marvin (M) pinned Chase Serafin. :44; 120 — Don Zimmerman (M) dec. Austin Szugye, 7-0; 126 — Joe Sofranko (S) dec. Henry Coyle, 4-0; 132 — Zak Dennis (M) forfeit; 138 — Joey Pagliaroli (S) pinned Kyle Nuhfer, 2:38; 145 — Jeremy Parsons (M) forfeit; 152 — Bodey McClintock (M) maj. dec. Chris Williams, 10-0; 160 — Ben Bucher (S) dec. Jake Parsons, 1-0; 170 — Ronald Baldwin (M) pinned Nate Findley, 4:41; 182 — Jacob Alexander (M) forfeit; JV: No match.