Portage HS scores | Feb. 7: Rootstown basketball seals share of third straight PTC title
MOGADORE — A third straight league title wasn't going to come without a fight.
After pulling out a double-overtime thriller at St. Thomas Aquinas Monday, Rootstown clinched a share of the Portage Trail Conference girls basketball championship with a 66-46 win over host Mogadore Wednesday.
"It feels really good," Rovers junior Addy Germann said. "We work really hard for it every single day, and I think it helps that our team is so well bonded and we just support each other."
The final score was a tad deceptive. Even when the Rovers (17-2, 7-0) stormed ahead for good with a 16-4 run to end the first half, the Wildcats kept battling back throughout the third quarter.
Ultimately, Rootstown's 11 3s — compared to just one for Mogadore — were too much to overcome.
When the Wildcats (9-11, 3-5) took an 18-17 lead minutes into the second quarter, the Rovers responded with an elbow jumper by Colbie Curall. Kelsey Bittecuffer then found Germann for a two 3-pointers.
Germann, a junior, made her first four 3-point tries and 5 of 6 overall to finish with 15 points. Curall, a sophomore, added three 3-pointers and led Rootstown with 16 points.
Not that the Rovers didn't have their share of big buckets in the post, including senior Brooklynn McIntyre scoring six of her seven points in the fourth quarter to help put the game away and junior Nadia Lough recording a double-double (10 points, 16 rebounds).
"Once they found out that we do have shooters, they went and spread out the defense more, which gave me and Nadia more room to work our magic," McIntyre said. "And so we got the ball in and I did a spin move and up and a putback and it really made the team work together."
The Wildcats, who lost by 47 in Rootstown Jan. 3, battled hard on the boards Wednesday.
Mogadore senior Brook McIntyre, who missed her team's first clash with the Rovers, led all scorers with 20 points.
Ari Tompkins (10 points, seven rebounds), Amelia Morris (six points, 10 rebounds) and Julie Tompkins (eight points, five rebounds) also delivered gritty performances for the Wildcats.
"[Mogadore] Coach [Jen Ritch] has got them playing hard and we could see that, so we knew it wasn't going to be like the last game and knew it was going to be just like this," Rootstown coach Joe Leonard said. "They were going to play hard and we're just happy to get the win."
PTC battles aren't complete yet for the Rovers, who host second-place Warren JFK in their league finale next Wednesday. A win would clinch an outright championship.
Streetsboro 59, Nordonia 40
The Rockets surged to a big lead, controlling the first (12-5) and second (22-5) quarters. Streetsboro junior Naomi Benson led all scorers with 20 points, while Ella Kassan (12), Carlee Bedford (11, three 3-pointers) and Sydney Abbuhl (10) also finished in double digits. Haydn Paul led the Knights with 15 points.
Box Scores
GIRLS BASKETBALL
ROOTSTOWN 66, MOGADORE 46
ROOTSTOWN (17-2, 7-0): Curall 6-1-16, Germann 5-0-15, White 3-0-7, Bittecuffer 1-3-6, Plecko 2-0-5, Brooklynn McIntyre 3-1-7, Lough 4-2-10. Totals 24-7-66.
MOGADORE (10-11): J. Tompkins 3-2-8, Morris 2-2-6, Brook McIntyre 7-6-20, A. Tompkins 3-3-10, Miller 1-0-2. Totals 16-13-46.
Rootstown - 18 - 16 - 16 - 16 — 66
Mogadore - 10 - 13 - 12 - 11 — 46
3-pointers: Germann 5, Curall 3, White, Bittecuffer, Plecko, A. Tompkins. Fouls: Rootstown 16-9. Rebounds: Rootstown 40 (Lough 16), Mogadore 30 (Morris 10).
STREETSBORO 59, NORDONIA 40
STREETSBORO (15-4): Johnson-Wilson 0-1-1, Tiller 1-0-3, Taylor 1-0-2, Abbuhl 4-1-10, Benson 8-4-20, Kassan 5-2-12, Bedford 4-0-11. Totals 23-8-59.
NORDONIA (6-15): Dunlap 3-1-7, K. Wilson 2-2-8, Morgan 2-1-6, Paul 6-2-15, Johnson 1-0-2, A. Wilson 1-0-2. Totals 15-6-40.
Streetsboro - 12 - 22 - 14 - 11 — 59
Nordonia - 5 - 5 - 13 - 17 — 40
3-pointers: Bedford 3, K. Wilson 2, Tiller, Abbuhl, Morgan, Paul.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage County high school scores from Feb. 7, 2024
