Garrettsville – For the first time since 1997 the Garfield G-Men girl’s basketball team is making their second consecutive trip to the district semi-finals.
Following Garfield’s convincing 48-23 victory last Wednesday against Champion; the Lady G-Men soared by the Hawks from Hawken 62-49 to earn their back-to-back sectional title.
The wire-to-wire victories put Garfield at 16-7 on the season and puts 9th year head coach Aaron Gilbert at 81 wins over that span.
Over the first four minutes Wednesday, Garfield jumped out to a 5-0 lead against Champion. The Golden Flashes first basket came at the 4-minute mark, Garfield would end the first quarter on a 3-pointer by senior Becky Kirk to give the Lady G-Men a 13-6 lead after one quarter.
Kirk would hit another 3-pointer in the second frame pushing the lead to a 22-13 advantage at the half.
Coach Gilbert’s halftime speech must have involved defense because Garfield came out in the third quarter and shut down Champion, to the tune of one point, a single free throw, late in the quarter. After the swarming defense took a break before the final frame Garfield held a 42-14 advantage with eight minutes to play.
Sophomore Grayson Rose led all scorers with 14 while Juniors Madisson Geddes and Alicia Witte chipped in with 10 and nine.
Saturday the Lady G-Men faced last season’s district runner-up, Hawken.
The Hawks came into a “No Fly Zone” early in the game as Garfield jumped out to a 12-9 lead after the first quarter thanks to Rose’s six points. The second frame Garfield took control, with Geddes pouring in eight of the team’s 18 second-quarter points, while holding the Hawks to four points, giving the Lady G-Men a commanding 30-13 lead.
The Hawks regrouped in the second half, outscoring Garfield 18-11 in the third frame. The final stanza saw Hawken cut the lead to single digits several times and got as close as eight points with 1:55 remaining in the contest but Geddes scored five of Garfield’s final six points to put the game away. Garfield posted three players in double figures, led by Geddes with 17, Rose 14, sophomore Lauren Jones added 13. A host of role-players added support namely, Senior Caytlin Armstrong who scored all seven of her points in the critical fourth quarter.
Coach Gilbert and his squad will face a familiar foe in Pymatuning Valley at the Ravenna district; the Lakers ended Garfield’s season last year with a 20-point victory over the young G-Gals. That experience may be all the girls need to put them over the regional drought.
“I think the girls matured a lot since the last game of the year, that was an atmosphere we weren’t ready for and I think this year we have prepared ourselves for this moment,” said Gilbert following the game, as many Hawken supporters congratulated him and wished him well in the tournament.
No basketball team from Garfield has made a regional appearance since 1989 when first team all state selection Kim Wilson and the Lytle sisters, led by coach Dudley Lytle, took the Lady G-Men all the way to the regional finals.Garrettsville – For the first time since 1997 the Garfield G-Men girl’s basketball team is making their second consecutive trip to the district semi-finals. Following Garfield’s convincing 48-23 victory last Wednesday against Champion; the Lady G-Men soared by the Hawks from Hawken 62-49 to earn their back-to-back sectional title. The wire-to-wire victories put Garfield at 16-7 on the season and puts 9th year head coach Aaron Gilbert at 81 wins over that span. Over the first four minutes Wednesday, Garfield jumped out to a 5-0 lead against Champion. The Golden Flashes first basket came at the 4-minute mark, Garfield would end the first quarter on a 3-pointer by senior Becky Kirk to give the Lady G-Men a 13-6 lead after one quarter. Kirk would hit another 3-pointer in the second frame pushing the lead to a 22-13 advantage at the half. Coach Gilbert’s halftime speech must have involved defense because Garfield came out in the third quarter and shut down Champion, to the tune of one point, a single free throw, late in the quarter. After the swarming defense took a break before the final frame Garfield held a 42-14 advantage with eight minutes to play. Sophomore Grayson Rose led all scorers with 14 while Juniors Madisson Geddes and Alicia Witte chipped in with 10 and nine. Saturday the Lady G-Men faced last season’s district runner-up, Hawken. The Hawks came into a “No Fly Zone” early in the game as Garfield jumped out to a 12-9 lead after the first quarter thanks to Rose’s six points. The second frame Garfield took control, with Geddes pouring in eight of the team’s 18 second-quarter points, while holding the Hawks to four points, giving the Lady G-Men a commanding 30-13 lead. The Hawks regrouped in the second half, outscoring Garfield 18-11 in the third frame. The final stanza saw Hawken cut the lead to single digits several times and got as close as eight points with 1:55 remaining in the contest but Geddes scored five of Garfield’s final six points to put the game away. Garfield posted three players in double figures, led by Geddes with 17, Rose 14, sophomore Lauren Jones added 13. A host of role-players added support namely, Senior Caytlin Armstrong who scored all seven of her points in the critical fourth quarter. Coach Gilbert and his squad will face a familiar foe in Pymatuning Valley at the Ravenna district; the Lakers ended Garfield’s season last year with a 20-point victory over the young G-Gals. That experience may be all the girls need to put them over the regional drought. “I think the girls matured a lot since the last game of the year, that was an atmosphere we weren’t ready for and I think this year we have prepared ourselves for this moment,” said Gilbert following the game, as many Hawken supporters congratulated him and wished him well in the tournament. No basketball team from Garfield has made a regional appearance since 1989 when first team all state selection Kim Wilson and the Lytle sisters, led by coach Dudley Lytle, took the Lady G-Men all the way to the regional finals.
