Turnovers cost St. Paul in district loss

GIBSONBURG — St. Paul knew exactly what it had to do. The Flyers were well aware of St. Mary Central Catholic freshmen Reid Didion and Evelyn Shafrath. Stopping the duo was another story. Didion and Shafrath combined for 35 points and 30 rebounds as third-seeded St. Paul fell to the No. 5 Panthers 44-37 in a Division VII district semifinal game Wednesday at Gibsonburg High School. "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 both of them. That was really the difference." The Flyers finished the season with a record of 11-13. "Unfortunately, we have four seniors that played their last game tonight," Frazee said. "We do have a young team other than them. We've been working on the fundamental stuff, having youth camps to get kids excited about playing basketball. Obviously, volleyball is king at our school. These girls have worked so hard." St. Paul defeated SMCC (12-13) in a game earlier this season, 31-28. In that game on Nov. 25, the Flyers scored the final nine points of the game to 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." The Flyers trailed 11-4 early, but buckets from Deanna Vazquez, Aubrie Bogard, and Raeleigh Friend helped St. Paul get within 13-11 after one quarter. A bucket from Friend to open the second quarter tied the game. But that was the closest St. Paul got. On the other end, the Panthers were able to chip away and build their lead. Didion hit a triple, and later, Shafrath scored for a 20-15 lead. Didion made two free throws to help SMCC take a 22-16 lead into halftime. "We had been doing a better job of not giving up big runs," Frazee said. "We didn't finish the strongest the last seven or eight games of the year. We kept things close, but we weren't able to push over." Ella Kalizewski scored out of the break for St. Paul, and later, a bucket from Friend kept the Flyers within 24-20. But the Panthers responded in a big way. Shafrath scored and made two free throws to make it 28-20. Didion extended the margin to double digits, and a tally from Shafrath pushed SMCC up 32-20. "It was one basket at a time," Panthers coach Kevin 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 quarter. After Friend dropped in a bucket for the Flyers, Didion hit a 3 and followed it 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. They are a very good team and a well-coached team." 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. "Raeleigh, as a freshman, really carried us," Frazee said. "It was really two different teams we played this year." Didion finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Shafrath had 10 points and 19 rebounds. 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 of 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. They would help the younger girls in every aspect." ST. PAUL (11-13) Raeleigh Friend 8-3—21, Aubrie Bogard 2-6—10, Ella Kalizewski 2 0—4, Deanna Vazquez 1-0—2 2. TOTALS 13-9—37. ST. MARY CC (12-13) Nicolette Hile 1-1—3, Allison Lill 1-1—4, Rae Roth 0-2—2, Reid Didion 9-5—25, Evelyn Shafrath 4-2—10. TOTALS 15 11—44. St. Paul 11 5 8 13 — 37 SMCC 13 9 13 9 — 44 Three-point FGs: (SP) Friend 2; (STM) Didion 2, Lill.