Girls basketball: Highland feasts in win over Hoover

NORTH CANTON — Original Teddy Grahams before the game and Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers afterward. A lot of the faces have changed, but Madi Morgan and the rest of the Highland girls basketball team remain motivated by food. Coach James Madison doesn't care one bit as long as the Hornets keep winning, and Federal League contender Hoover found out how driven the Hornets can be to eat Monday afternoon during a 38-23 non-league game that was physically dominated by Highland from start to finish. A four-game, non-league holiday stretch of Medina, Toledo Whitmer, Hoover and Chippewa is going to determine a lot of where the Hornets (10-1) will be seeded in the Division III tournament, where they are a defending district champion. They're 3-0 so far — the Chipps (6-2) are next up Monday — while allowing an average of only 36.7 points after Hoover (6-3) was held to a season low by a whopping 13. "Great defensive effort by everybody," Madison said. "To hold somebody under 25 points, especially a good team like Hoover is, I'm really proud of the effort and grit my team showed on defense." Defense was clearly the theme on a cold, blustery day, as Hoover has developed a reputation for slow-paced action under former Field boys and Ravenna Southeast girls coach Craig Nettleton. The Vikings rely heavily on All-Ohio point guard Zoe McCort to control pace and center Aubrey Fisher to clean up around the rim, as well as three other seniors in the starting lineup who help keep games in the 40s. All-Gazette point guard Grace Shondel was up for the challenge, fellow soccer player Jordyn Caples provided support up top and Morgan swatted four more shots, twice on backside help and twice on drives down the lane. McCort was a non-factor, finishing with six points on 3-for-17 shooting, and six of Fisher's eight points came on putbacks as Highland counterpart Emeri Gausman outrebounded the 6-footer by three (10-7). Hoover finished 11-for-40 from the floor and 0-for-9 from 3-point range while committing 17 turnovers, a high total given the game's methodical pace. Highland's help defense was so good the Vikings couldn't get to the foul line, either, as they made just 1-of-3 attempts. "We moved to the ball really well helping out on guarding No. 31 (McCort), and that really helped us because we knew we need to stop her," said Morgan, whose pregame routine now includes a few rounds of "Good Pizza, Great Pizza" on the iPad that Santa got her for Christmas. "We held her to six points, and she usually averages 15 or so. That really helped us out in this game. "(Our defense) really rattled them. I think they weren't ready for us to go straight at them. I felt like we really needed that to get ahead of them." Leading 8-4, 23-10 and 31-16 at the quarter breaks, the Hornets were never threatened seriously and had another well-balanced effort offensively to offset a 4-for-16 first quarter and 3-for-16 third. Morgan is slowly but surely rounding into form, as the athletic sophomore made 6-of-14 field goals for 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and four blocks. Gausman's rebounding was big as she ended with five points and a game-high 10 boards, Caples continued to contribute in non-scoring ways with three points, six rebounds and two assists, Sophia Madison made key 3-pointers that pushed the lead to 23-10 and 28-12 and Shondel had another Shondel-esque line of five points, six rebounds, five assists and six steals. While sharing the ball has always been stressed by eighth-year coach James Madison, this may be his most balanced team despite the lack of a consistent 3-point threat. All nine players in the rotation average between 2.6 and 11 points. The Hornets are buying in and exceeding expectations thus far this season, though they're still looking to get better. "Definitely drive and dish," Morgan said of what needs improvement. "They collapsed on us really easily and we kept turning the ball over. We weren't connected." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Highland 38, Hoover 23 HIGHLAND &emsp;&emsp;8 15 8 7 — 38 HOOVER &emsp;&emsp;4 6 6 7 — 23 Highland — Rowan Kildoo 2-2-7, Madi Morgan 6-0-12, Emeri Gausman 2-1-5, Jordyn Caples 1-1-3, Grace Shondel 2-1-5, Scarlet Gordon 0-0-0, Sophia Madison 2-0-6, Bridget Cope 0-0-0, Alaina Weingart 0-0-0, Kennedy Lawson 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-5-38. Hoover — Olivia Yocum 0-0-0, Stella Sommers 2-0-4, Aubrey Fisher 4-0-8, Jules Krearens 0-0-0, Zoe McCort 3-0-6, Sammie Greger 1-0-2, Chayse Horning 0-0-0, Lily Jones 1-1-3, Alexia Zenallis 0-0-0. TOTALS: 11-1-23. 3-point goals — Madison 2, Kildoo. Rebounds — Highland 31 (Gausman 10), Hoover 21 (Fisher 7). Assists — Highland 10 (Shondel 5), Hoover 3 (McCort 2). Records — Highland (10-1), Hoover (6-3). Junior varsity — Hoover 39, Highland 30 (H: Claire Hartschuh 7).