Big fourth leads Huron to tournament win

PORT CLINTON — The ups and downs will come. It is how you react in the biggest moments that can determine an outcome. Huron still led Port Clinton by eight points in the fourth quarter, but junior Addie LaCivita got hot and put the game out of reach. LaCivita scored half of her 16 points in a quick 90-second stretch, lifting the fourth-seeded Tigers to a convincing 50-31 Division V tournament opening win over Port Clinton on Thursday. "We knew in a tournament game there was going to be a lot of highs and lows," LaCivita said. "We wanted to focus on keeping our highs. When they hit shots, we wanted to respond and play our game." Huron improved to 9-12 overall and will face second-seeded Willard (16-7) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Shelby High School. Willard topped the Tigers 56-41 on Dec. 5 in Huron and 56-31 on Feb. 4 in Willard. "This is big for us because we wanted to play them again," said LaCivita of a third meeting with Willard. "We really haven't played our best games against them, so this means a lot to us. We need to come out strong and keep pushing as far as we can." The Redskins finish the season 14-9. It isn't the ideal end for a talented group such as Port Clinton, but it's another step in the right direction. "As I told the girls in a very emotional locker room, it's going to sting for a few days," PC coach Kevin Belden said. "When we look back at it, we're going to recognize it as another solid season. Is it where we want to be and hope to get to in the future? No, but it's still a successful season." Huron still led 33-23 after three quarters, but two free throws by Olivia Spencer cut the lead to eight. After a PC timeout, LaCivita hit her second 3 of the night. Then, after an empty possession by the Redskins, Jessica Brown also drilled a triple to make it 39-25. PC called another timeout, but it didn't slow LaCivita. She went coast-to-coast after a rebound and scored. Then, she knocked down a 3-pointer and suddenly, Huron was ahead 44-25. "I liked our communication and really knowing where their shooters were," Huron coach Darius Schaeffer said. "They've got some nice pieces. They have a nice point guard and they've got some shooters. They have post players. It's hard to defend. I think we did a really good job communicating in our zone." The Redskins struggled shooting from the floor throughout. Port Clinton made just 11 of 43 shots including a wretched 3 of 24 from deep. "What's crazy is over the last two weeks we won four in a row and we were shooting the ball so well," Belden said. "I think we got decent looks, but it just wasn't our night shooting the basketball." PC did use a 7-0 lead to take a 9-5 lead in the first quarter, but Huron answered with the next 11 points and led 16-11 after one quarter. The Tigers had to adjust its game plans early in the second quarter when 6-foot freshman Mya Smith went down with a leg injury. Huron played more zone and dared Port Clinton to shoot the 3. The Redskins made just 1 of 11 3s in the first half as the Tigers led 23-16 at the break. "I thought they were going to start knocking some down because they really are good shooters," Schaeffer said. "We were fortunate they had an off night. I thought our communication and knowing where their shooters were and passing them off — I was constantly yelling to hand it off and let the next one pick her up." After scoring nine points in the first 4:05 of the game, PC mustered just 20 points the next 20:56 of the game. The teams met twice already this season with each winning at home. Huron won 51-42 on Jan. 21 before Port Clinton bounced back with a 45-41 win Jan. 9. "We played more zone this time," Schaeffer said. "A lot of that was having Mya Smith go down with the injury. She normally plays Erie (Buckley) more straight up. Without her in there, we couldn't let Erie dominate the paint. That's why went to zone, but we did a good job of communicating out of it." Buckley led the Redskins with 12 points while adding five rebounds. Olivia Emerson had eight points and seven rebounds. Port Clinton has five seniors — Christiona Fenton, Spencer, Madelyn Cornell, Buckley and Emerson. "These five seniors have come into the program and helped get it back on track," Belden said. "Now hopefully we can pass it down to the younger kids and they'll keep it going." Jessica Brown led all scorers with 19 points while LaCivita finished off the double-double with 12 rebounds. Huron's season will continue against a Willard team that will look much different even from the last meeting. Willard leading scorer Reese Bedingfield tore her ACL in that Feb. 4 meeting against the Tigers, but Schaeffer knows it's still quite a hill to climb for his team next week. "They're very good," said Schaeffer of the Crimson Flashes. "Realistically, they handled us twice. We're going to have to play well to beat Willard. They're a very good team even without Reese." HURON (9-12)Jessica Brown 6 3-4 19, Julia Brown 2 1-2 6, Addie LaCivita 6 1-1 16, Mya Smith 1 0-0 2, Reece Hotz 3 1-2 7. TOTALS 18 6-9 50 PORT CLINTON (14-9)Olivia Spencer 0 3-4 3, Madelyn Cornell 2 0-0 6, Thea Wybensinger 1 0-0 2, Erieyonna Buckley 5 2-9 12, Olivia Emerson 3 1-2 8. TOTALS 11 6-15 31 Huron 16 7 10 17 — 50Port Clinton 11 5 7 8 — 31 Three-point goals: Huron 8 (Je. Brown 4, LaCivita 3, Ju. Brown); Port Clinton 3 (Cornell 2, Emerson)