BARBERTON — Athletes know when the dream is about to end. They get that feeling it just isn’t their night.

However, they keep fighting until the bitter end, despite their struggles. Despite the fact fate is against them, they keep fighting.

And that’s exactly what the Geneva girls basketball team did in a 50-46 loss to Struthers in a Division II regional semifinal at Barberton High School.

The Eagles (19-5) found out early it just wasn’t their night. They were just 1-8 (12.5 percent) from the field in the opening quarter and turned the ball over 10 times in the period. They fell behind 9-0 in the first 4:01 of the game.

“I think it was nerves, and there was just a lot going on through the day,” Geneva coach Nancy Barbo said. “Along with the drive, there were a lot of distractions. They were all positive distractions, don’t get me wrong, but I think it took us a while to get started in the game.

“I’m not making any excuses. We had the whole community behind us and we didn’t come out ready to play to start out.”

The frustration set in quickly for Geneva. But the Eagles fought back with a vengeance.

They got on the board for the first time on a 3-pointer from reserve guard Audra Puckrin with 3:44 remaining in the first quarter. Then Taylor Webb closed out the period hitting on five of six free throw attempts and Geneva was down just one, 9-8, after eight minutes.

Webb scored the first points of the second half on a feed from Carly Cash, to give the Eagles their first lead, 10-9, just 13 seconds into the second quarter. Jillian Nazor put Geneva up two, 11-9, with a free throw nearly four minutes later.

The Eagles and Wildcats traded points for the next couple next minutes, with Geneva holding fast to its slim lead.

But things turned south again for the Eagles, and in a hurry. Struthers (20-5) closed the half with a 9-0 spurt over the final 1:57 and led 22-15 at the break.

Dana Mathews connected on a 3-pointer from the corner and tallied on a layup. Kaitlyn Opritza then scored a pair of buckets.

Going just 2-9 (22.2 percent) from the field and turning the ball over seven times kept the Eagles from building any kind of momentum or adding to it’s lead.

Mathews only added to the Eagles’ frustration to start the third period. She opened the half with a 3-pointer at the 7:25 mark. She added to it with a long jumper from the top of the key a little more than a minute later.

After Courtney Thompson answered with own long jumper for the Eagles, Mathews connected on a trey from the top of the key and added a free throw to give the Wildcats a 31-17 advantage with 5:40 remaining in the third quarter. Geneva whittled that deficit to eight, 36-28, with 1:03 left in the period. But a 3-pointer from Katelyn Ardale had Struthers up 11, 39-28, after three quarters.

The teams traded buckets in the first minute of the final period, but then the Eagles showed just how big their hearts could be. They forged ahead, despite the fact they were struggling.

“It got a little dispairing at times,” Webb said. “But you try to look ahead to the next play. At points we were hurting a little bit. It’s hard to get past the mentality that you’re having an off night. But you have to look past it, keep pushing, keep going.”

“You’ve got to keep your head in the game,” Thompson said. “You have to keep wanting to strive to be better. You have to keep yourself mentally tough. As a team, you have to stick together, talk and just be focused.”

Thompson scored on a putback with 6:20 remaining in the game, Puckrin scored on a drive and Webb tallied on a putback to get the Eagles within six, 41-35, with 5:07 to play. A free throw from Webb and a trey from Nazor got Geneva to within two, 41-39, with 3:42 remaining.

But three free throws from Mathews had the Wildcats up five, 44-39, with 3:12 left.

Geneva had a little more fight left.

A bucket from Nazor had Geneva to within three, 46-43, with two minutes to play. Over the next 1:30, the Eagles missed several open 3-pointers and a number of opportunities for putbacks and the Wildcats advanced the lead to five, 48-43, with 31 seconds to go on a pair of free throws from Ardale.

“We got open 3-pointers to tie it,” Barbo said. “We made a great drive. We were right there. This will be one of those games... Struthers is a great team, but this was a winnable game for us.”

A pair of free throws from Natalie Stanley closed the gap to three, 49-46, with 7.4 seconds remaining. And once again, a missed 3-pointer was the Eagles’ undoing.

Ardale made a free throw with 4.6 seconds to play to seal the win for Struthers.

For the game, the Eagles were just 14-54 (25.9 percent) from the field and committed 29 turnovers in the game.

It was those missed opportunities that proved to be the difference in the game. And a majority of those misses were from inside the paint.

“That’s our bread and butter,” Barbo said. “If we don’t have that... I felt all game we struggled in that area. Some go in, some don’t. Unfortunately, they weren’t going in for us.”

But the Eagles, who were making the first trip to the regional tournament in program history, won’t be remembered by Barbo for coming up short. They’ll be remembered for being long in the heart.

“(Clawing their way back into the game) shows their character,” Barbo said. “They’ve never given up all season long. To me, it made me feel anything was possible, no matter the score. They kept battling. And when you keep battling, good things happen.

“That’s been the team’s MO. They never gave up. That’s why we were here. They’re definitely not the most talented team in our district or in our area, but they know how to fight and keep battling. They’ve taken us further than we’ve ever been.”



Ettinger is a sports writer for the Star Beacon. Reach him at bettinger@starbeacon.com.