SMCC advances to district final with win over St. Paul

GIBSONBURG — The reality has not sunk in yet. One year ago, St. Mary Central Catholic won one girls basketball game, snapping an 82-game losing streak. Now the Panthers are getting ready to play for a district championship. Freshmen Reid Didion and Evelyn Shafrath combined for 35 points and 30 rebounds as fifth-seeded SMCC topped third-seeded St. Paul 44-37 in a Division VII district semifinal at Gibsonburg High School on Wednesday. "I don't know if it'll sink in until we get here Saturday, to be honest," Panthers coach Kevin Youskievicz said. "We have a lot of work to do. The next team, it gets harder and harder. As you go deeper, the teams are better and better. I think we're playing well at the right time." SMCC improved to 12-13 and will face top-seeded Seneca East (17-7) at 3 p.m. Saturday in the district final back at Gibsonburg. "I told the girls that the regular season is one thing, but the postseason is another thing," Youskievicz said. "We're coming together, even with a younger base. We have three freshmen starting, but I like our odds." Didion finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds while Shafrath had 10 points and 19 rebounds. "When you put a freshman on this stage, it's different from the regular season," Youskievicz said. "Were they nervous? They were all nervous. I told them once the ball tipped and we got to playing, the nerves go away and you get into your game. I think that's what they both did." SMCC raced out to an 11-4 lead following a bucket from Didion and 3 from Allison Lill. St. Paul (11-13) got buckets from Deanna Vazquez, Aubrie Bogard and Raeleigh Friend to get within 13-11 after one quarter. A bucket from Friend to open the second quarter tied the game. That was the closest St. Paul got. On the other end, the Panthers were able to build their lead. Didion hit a triple and Shafrath scored for a 20-15 lead. Didion made two free throws to help SMCC take a 22-16 lead into halftime. "They were making shots and we weren't," St. Paul coach Steve Frazee said. "We missed I don't know how many shots in the paint. They were knocking down shots and we had a hard time controlling (Didion and Shafrath). That was really the difference." Ella Kalizewski scored out of the break for St. Paul and a bucket from Friend got the Flyers within 24-20. The Panthers responded in a big way. Shafrath scored and made two free throws to make it 28-20. Didion extend the margin to double digits and a tally from Shafrath pushed SMCC up 32-20. "It was one basket at a time," Youskievicz said. "No lead is safe in tournament time and we knew that. Even though we were up, I was looking up at the score worried. The way St. Paul can hit their shots, I knew they could get a hot streak. It's fortunate they didn't." That proved to be the difference in the game. A score by Friend drew St. Paul within 35-24 after three quarters, but Didion scored to open the fourth. After Friend dropped in a bucket for the Flyers, Didion hit a 3 and followed with a bucket to make it 40-26. "Tonight, we were very scrappy," Youskievicz said. "We knew we had to be with St. Paul because we knew they wouldn't go away quietly. We watched them on film, but seeing them tonight was two different things." St. Paul defeated SMCC 31-28 on Nov. 25. The Flyers scored the final nine points to get that win. "We knew who we had to guard and we just didn't do it," Frazee said. "We watched the first game and had a couple other films on them. We knew they were a younger team, but they were really young the first time we played them. They had a whole season and they got a lot better." St. Paul made just 13 of 51 shots and 9 of 17 free throws. Friend led the Flyers with 21 points while Bogard had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Kalizewski added 10 rebounds for St. Paul. Morgan Endsley, Georgia Crabbs, Peyton Barman and Teagan Mansfield-Bush are the seniors for St. Paul. "Not having an opportunity for them to play JV the first couple years, going right from junior high to varsity, is really tough," Frazee said. "That's what we're trying to build on. They're great leaders and very unselfish." For now, SMCC will keep in a routine before facing Seneca East. The Tigers defeated Hopewell-Loudon in a district semifinal Wednesday. "I told the girls it is business as usual," Youskievicz said. "We have a routine we do every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We're going to continue that. We'll celebrate, but once we get to school tomorrow, it's a brand new day." ST. PAUL (11-13) Morgan Endsley 0 0-0 0, Raeleigh Friend 8 3-6 21, Aubrie Bogard 2 6-8 10, Ella Kalizewski 2 0-1 4, Deanna Vazquez 1 0-2 2. TOTALS 13 9-17 37 ST. MARY CC (12-13) Nicolette Hile 1 1-4 3, Allison Lill 1 1-2 4, Rae Roth 0 2-8 2, Reid Didion 9 5-9 25, Evelyn Shafrath 4 2-7 10, Ella Brownell 0 0-2 0. TOTALS 15 11-31 44 St. Paul 11 5 8 13 — 37 SMCC 13 9 13 9 — 44 Three-point goals: St. Paul 2 (Friend 2); SMCC 3 (Didion 2, Lill)