North Canton Hoover girls basketball fighting through rough stretch, including loss to Mt. Notre Dame, KK Bransford

Mike Popovich, The Repository
·3 min read
Janet Eriksen, 42, of Hoover goes to the basket while being defended by X'Zariya Fannin, left, and Ariahna Snell, right, of McKinley during their game at Hoover on Dec. 1.
Janet Eriksen, 42, of Hoover goes to the basket while being defended by X'Zariya Fannin, left, and Ariahna Snell, right, of McKinley during their game at Hoover on Dec. 1.

BERLIN — Hoover's girls basketball team is not accustomed to stretches like this.

You rarely see the Vikings go a couple of weeks without winning a game. You rarely see any losing streak include multiple double-digit losses.

After a rough second half on Saturday, all first-year coach Josh Mason and his players want to do is tackle what lies ahead.

Defending Division I state champion Mt. Notre Dame beat Hoover 52-21 on the opening day of Classic in the County. The Cougars are the state's best team with the state's best player, reigning Ohio Ms. Basketball KK Bransford.

As for the Vikings, Mason saw a team that was undaunted while facing their biggest challenge of the season.

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"Luckily for me, I'm blessed with a team that loves each other and plays hard regardless," Mason said. "Every moment is a teachable moment. There's no quit in them. Regardless of the score, we're always learning as we play."

The Mt. Notre Dame loss extended Hoover's losing streak to five. The Vikings (8-7) have not won since Dec. 22 when they beat Medina,

Mason knew his first season would include a gauntlet of a schedule. Like Hoover, the Federal League features teams capable of making deep postseason runs. The losing streak started with a defeat to unbeaten Blackhawk (Pa.).

"We're playing top-10 state-ranked teams whether it's in our conference or out of it," Mason said.

Lily Cain, 13, of Hoover takes a shot while being defended by Ky'Lonee Foster, 1, of McKinley during their game at Hoover on Dec. 1.
Lily Cain, 13, of Hoover takes a shot while being defended by Ky'Lonee Foster, 1, of McKinley during their game at Hoover on Dec. 1.

A welcome sight on Saturday was the return of Angela Roshak, who was out briefly with an injury. Hoover's only senior starter played 18 minutes against Mt. Notre Dame and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Down 21-15 at halftime, the Vikings were within reach of the state's top-ranked Division I team. Then Mt. Notre Dame took command. The Cougars outscored Hoover 18-0 and helped force seven Vikings turnovers in the third quarter.

"Coach told us in the locker room (at halftime) that we were playing as a team," Hoover junior post player Grace Craig said. "In the second half we just kind of went on our own island."

Craig had to defend Bransford at times. The Notre Dame commit heated up in the second half and finished with a game-high 23 points.

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"She's a very good player," Craig said. "She's very skilled and obviously athletic. She was a good matchup and good competition for me. I'm glad I got to play against her.:

Hoover's Lauren Rose finished with a team-high nine points. The Vikings shot just 29.4% (10 of 34) from the field, including 17.6% (3 of 17) in the second half..

"I'm excited for this group," Mason said. "We've went in spurts where we've shown we can be a pretty tough team.

"Once we find a way to put it together for all four quarters, I think we're going to be a tough team at the end of the season."

Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep,com

On Twitter: @mpopovichREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Hoover High School girls basketball team hoping to turn things around