Fourth-quarter blues doom Tallmadge girls basketball vs. Roosevelt

Roger Gordon
·2 min read
Tallmadge's Mia Zappola looks to shoot against Green in the first half of the game at Green High School. Green beat Tallmadge 72 to 28.
Tallmadge's Mia Zappola looks to shoot against Green in the first half of the game at Green High School. Green beat Tallmadge 72 to 28.

For a while, it looked as if the Tallmadge girls basketball team would earn its first victory of the young season Dec. 1 at Suburban League American Conference rival Kent Roosevelt

Then a nightmare of a fourth quarter doomed the Blue Devils in a 57-33 defeat.

Tallmadge slipped to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the American Conference.

The Blue Devils trailed just 14-10 after one quarter and 26-19 at halftime before taking the lead in the third quarter for a spell. However, the Rough Riders took back the lead 37-30 after three quarters and then outscored the visitors 20-3 in the fourth period.

“We just did not make any shots in that fourth quarter. Offensively we just could not get anything going,” Tallmadge head coach Joe Leonard said. “We also turned the ball over.”

Pacing the Blue Devils were sophomore guards Ashlyn Severns and Mia Zappola with seven points apiece. Junior guard Maya Dexter and sophomore guard/forward Lexi Gray each tallied five points.

“Lexi may not put up a tremendous amount of points, but her effort night in and night out is never in doubt,” said Leonard. “She’s instrumental in our press. She’s the top person, so she causes a lot of turnovers.”

Tallmadge's Lexi Gray drives on Green's Madi Pukansky in the first half of the game at Green High School. Green beat Tallmadge 72 to 28.
Tallmadge's Lexi Gray drives on Green's Madi Pukansky in the first half of the game at Green High School. Green beat Tallmadge 72 to 28.

On Nov. 24 Tallmadge was blown out 72-28 at Green. The Blue Devils actually trailed only 16-10 after the first quarter.

“We were feeling pretty good about ourselves,” Leonard said, “but Green’s pressure in the second quarter we just couldn’t handle.”

The Bulldogs extended their lead to 39-16 at the half and 56-22 after the third quarter.

“We got into no offensive flow all game,” said the coach. “We turned the ball over way too much.

“Green has a girl who is going to the university of Findlay, center Alyssa Ziehler. She had 16 or 17 points. She’s over 6-foot. She gave our center, Isabella Messina, some problems. She’s two years older and four inches taller than Isabella.”

Severns scored five points, while senior Ana Crangle and Gray each had three points.

According to Leonard, his team is experiencing some early-season growing pains.

“There are a lot of mental mistakes,” he said. “Offensively we’re struggling, we’re not rebounding the ball well, we’re not pushing the ball well, we don’t shoot free throws well. We shoot 20-30 free throws each daily during practices, but it just hasn’t materialized in a game yet. Also, against Green I think we were oh for 16 in three-point shot attempts.”

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Fourth-quarter blues doom Tallmadge girls basketball vs. Roosevelt