KARL PEARSON
SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP — One of the nice things for coaches in all-star games is getting the chance to work with the kind of players they may not have had at their disposal during their regular season. Working with players who gave your team fits during the season isn’t a bad thing, either.
Coaches Nancy Barbo of Geneva and Ryan Dolatowski of Perry found those to be pleasant products of their work with the Beacons team in Tuesday’s Star Beacon-Ed Batanian Senior Classic at Lakeside High School. Once they got their girls working together, it made for a winning combination in a 67-62 victory over the Stars.
“I thought the girls worked together really well,” Barbo said. “We were a little slow getting started, but once they started to get comfortable, I thought they played well together.”
“It was a friendly group of girls,” Dolatowski said. “The Lakeside girl (Dianna Moore) even came up to me and said she was feeling really comfortable out there.
“It was nice to have someone like (Geneva’s) Taylor Webb on our side this time. When (Perry) played them, she beat us up.”
Dolatowski and Barbo weren’t the only ones who were pleased with the girls they had in their charge. Conneaut’s Tony Pasanen and Madison’s Mike Smith, who coached the Stars, were quite pleased with what their team was able to do, even though it ended up on the short end of the score.
“I think the girls had a lot of fun,” Smith said. “So many of these kids never knew the other girls before and I think they really enjoyed talking with each other and found out they’re all pretty much the same.
“It was nice to have the chance to work with a big girl like (Conneaut’s) Nichele Johnson, especially since we didn’t have any big girls this year (at Madison). It was nice to get to work with a girl like (Jefferson’s) Lizzy Ziemski, who we had such a hard time with this year.”
Pasanen wasn’t surprised how much energy the girls from both teams invested in the game.
“Girls always play the game hard,” he said. “I think they’re programmed to go out and do something in any game, even if it is an exhibition.”
What an exhibition it was. Two of those highly prized players ended up as Players of the Game and received awards from Fundamental Basketball Camp proprietor Ray Force. Webb scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, led the Beacons with three blocked shots and also tied for the team high with three steals. Ziemski scored 10 points, led all rebounders with 12 and also dished out two assists for the Stars.
Each team had balanced scoring. Webb’s Geneva teammate, Courtney Thompson, and Perry’s Cecilia Siegel each scored 10 points, while Moore and Geneva’s Natalie Stanley each had seven points to go with the six scored by PV’s Olivia Holt.
Conneaut’s Justine VanCise topped the Stars with 11 points, including three 3-pointers, all scored in the second half. After Ziemski, Madison’s Chelsea Davis scored nine points, while Conneaut’s Sarah Campbell had seven and Edgewood’s Makenzie Koman hit for six.
The Stars got out of the gate the fastest, opening up an 18-11 lead midway through the first half. But the Beacons grabbed the lead near the end of the half as Siegel tied the game with a basket and Thompson put them ahead with two free throws as the Beacons took a 32-30 halftime lead.
The Beacons stretched their advantage as high at 53-45 in the second half. The Stars answered with a 7-0 run capped by Ziemski’s 3-pointer with 6:50 left to draw her team back within 53-52.
But the Beacons went on another run, keyed by three baskets from Stanley and two free throws by Holt, to push their edge back to 61-52. The closest the Stars got again was at 65-61 inside the last minute on Davis’ 3-pointer.
Getting into a tight game elicited the usual response from Barbo.
“It was nice to sit on the bench and have a laugh once in a while,” she said. “But it still made me tense when we hit a couple dry spells. I don’t think I ever totally relax in a game.”
But, a good time was still had by all, no matter what side they were on.
“It was just nice to see everybody let their guard down a little bit,” Pasanen said.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
STAR BEACON
ED BATANIAN
SENIOR CLASSIC
Beacons 67, Stars 62
at Lakeside Gymnasium
STARS (62)
Joslin Landis (Jefferson) 2 0-0 5, Nichele Johnson (Conneaut) 1 2-2 4, Makenzie Koman (Edgewood) 2 2-2 6, Justine VanCise (Conneaut) 3 2-2 11, Sarah Campbell (Conneaut) 3 1-2 7, Alyssa DiBenedetto (Edgewood) 0 0-0 0, Hannah Francis (Jefferson) 2 0-0 4, Kate Oberstar (Madison) 1 2-4 4, Lizzy Ziemski (Jefferson) 4 2-4 10, Ashley DiLillo (Madison) 1 0-0 2, Chelsea Davis (Madison) 4 0-0 9. Totals 23 11-16 62.
BEACONS (67)
Dianna Moore (Lakeside) 2 2-4 7, Carly Penna (SJP) 0 0-0 0, Kelly Kohr (Riverside) 0 0-0 0, Lauren Bell (Riverside) 2 0-0 6, Courtney Thompson (Geneva) 4 2-2 10, Cecilia Siegel (Perry) 4 2-2 10, Olivia Holt (PV) 2 2-2 6, Taylor Webb (Geneva) 10 1-1 21, Natalie Stanley (Geneva) 3 1-2 7. Totals 27 10-13 67.
Stars 30 32 — 62
Beacons 32 35 — 67
3-pointers — Stars 5 (VanCise 3, Davis and Landis 1 each); Beacons 3 (Bell 2, Moore 1). Total fouls — Stars 9; Beacons 9. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None. Field goals — Stars 23-55 (41.8 percent); Beacons 27-69 (39.1 percent). Rebounds — Stars 43 (Ziemski 12); Beacons 45 (Webb 7). Turnovers — Stars 22; Beacons 12. Assists — Stars 14 (Oberstar 4); Beacons 15 (Holt 4). Steals — Stars 9 (Oberstar 3); Beacons 14 (Siegel and Webb 3 each). Blocked shots — Stars 6 (Johnson 3); Beacons 6 (Webb 3).
n Officials — Phil Garcia, Michelle Peters, John Powers.
n 3-point champion — Hannah Francis, Jefferson.
n Players of the Game — Stars: Lizzy Ziemski, Jefferson; Beacons: Taylor Webb, Geneva.
n Coaches — Stars: Tony Pasanen, Conneaut; Mike Smith, Madison; Beacons: Nancy Barbo, Geneva; Ryan Dolatowski, Perry.
