Thu Mar 11 2010
by Steve Batko
Correspondent
Medina's girls basketball team is asking why us while Stow's squad picked a perfect time to win its first Northeast Ohio Conference River Division game of the season.
A defensive gem on the road allowed the Bulldogs to post a 40-32 upset of NOC River co-leader Medina on Jan. 30.
Stow (5-11, 1-5) knocked the Bees (9-6, 4-2) out of a first-place tie with Brush in the NOC River, the league's middle division.
Stow was set to host Lakewood Feb. 6, but results weren't available as of press time.
"It was nice to get a great win, especially at Medina's place," said veteran head coach Bob Podges. "We knocked them out of first and it was because of our great man defense."
Superb defense enabled Stow to hold Medina to a season low six points in the first half. The Lady Bulldogs led 24-6 at the half and were able to weather a Bee storm in the third stanza. Medina had a 17-7 advantage in the third, but it wasn't enough.
Medina, which was just 2-13 from beyond the 3-point arch, was outscored 12-2 at the free throw line while Stow forced 22 Bee turnovers.
Podges' crew shot only 26.5 percent from the field, but committed only 12 turnovers.
"I think we showed some patience on offense and we wanted to slow the game down a bit, and did a good job," said the mentor. "All five kids battled."
The Bulldogs got 13 points from sophomore Alex Shaver to pace a modest attack. Sophomore post Lexi Stefanov snagged nine rebounds and scored three points. Sophomore guard Kelli Magnani was 3-for-6 from the floor, 1-2 from 3-point land, and scored seven points.
"It continues to be a situation where our sophomores are playing pretty well for us," noted Podges.
Other contributors were junior forward Jackie Close (four points), junior guard Sarah Parsons (three points, three assists), senior post Sonya Istocka (four points), senior guard Jillian Francis (four points), and junior guard Julie Rooney (two points).
Seniors Kendra Mosser, Kim Peak, and Alexandra Madonia also played strong defense for Stow.
Freshman Taylor Burke led Medina with 13 points and 13 rebounds while point guard Sarah Flanders dished out six assists.
"Our defense really shut them down and we need to continue to play strong on both ends," said Podges, who had the team's division I tournament drawing on Feb. 7.
Stow closes the regular season with a road trip to Brush Feb. 10, a Feb. 13 home tilt against Mayfield, and a home clash Feb. 17 against Brunswick.
E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113
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