Johnnies, Redskins face off
UTICA — Tonight’s game between the Utica and Johnstown High School girls basketball teams could have lasting implications for both teams involved. Both teams are undefeated in Mid-Buckeye Conference play and are looking to stay that way.
The Redskins defeated the Johnnies twice last season in conference play and ran the table. This year, Utica is 9-1, including a 57-35 defeat of Granville on Saturday. The Redskins’ lone setback came at the hands of Jonathan Alder on Dec. 23.
“The biggest thing we learned was to play to our strengths as much as we can,” said Utica coach Michelle Snow of the loss. “We changed some things up against Jonathan Alder and I don’t know if that was to our best advantage. On the coaching end of things, I learned that we need to stick to our strengths and do the things that we do best. If that is not enough to go out and get a victory on any given night, then you go back to the drawing board.”
Johnstown, meanwhile, is off to a 7-2 start and is coming off a weekend split. The Johnnies, who lost their season opener to Nelsonville York, dropped their second game of the year at the Logan Tournament on Friday. They fell to undefeated Maysville, 59-41, before rebounding on Saturday with a 51-33 win over Worthington Kilbourne.
“I feel like we are, overall, playing well as a team,” Johnstown coach Connie Allen said. “We’ve had a few ups and downs, but we are coming together, starting to trust each other. Coming off of Christmas break, we didn’t have great practices. Now that we are back in school and knowing we have a great game coming up, we are doing better.
“I think we could have played better than what we did over the weekend. We didn’t have good practices prior to [Friday’s] game, just not real intense, focused practices. Maysville was good. We would have to play our best game or close to it to beat them. ... We’ve had good practices this week.”
With both teams off to such strong starts, an early January matchup is sure to provide many sparks and glimpses of things to come.
“Both teams have improved immensely from last year. Connie has been there now for three years and this is my third year at Utica,” Snow said. “Obviously, our teams have learned the philosophy that we are trying to teach. As a result, the level of play has been improved.”
“I feel they are a lot like last year’s team,” said Allen. “I saw them play Alder and just watching them play, they are the same team, but I feel like we have a better team this year. I’m hoping that if we come out and play our game, we will be in the game and have a situation where we can win it.”
Allen is hoping that some of her scouting report from the Utica game at Jonathan Alder can be a blue print for her team’s future success.
“What Alder did was attack them and got them in foul trouble. I am hoping we can do the same thing,” Allen said. “Utica is aggressive defensively. If we can handle that pressure and take it to them, we can use that to our advantage.”
Utica, led by guards Sierra Fletcher, Sarah Metzger, and Kaylee and Kandis Walker, will face a Johnstown squad with a lot of size inside and out.
“I believe our posts can be our strong point in the game,” said Allen. “We have a few solid players in there. We’ve worked on looking to our post players and we’ve also told our post players that Utica is very good at doubling down. They are scrappy so we have to be strong with the ball.”
The Redskins’ advantage on the perimeter could make the game an interesting combination of power and speed.
“When you play a team like Utica that can shoot the 3 and drive the lane on you, you hope that you can rely on them missing some shots and keep them from penetrating,” Allen said. “We have to at least have a hand in their face on the outside and limit them to one shot. The less shots they have, the better an opportunity we have to win.”
No matter which team wins, one thing is for certain: Both teams will be better for it in the long run.
“It is always good to be facing a top-caliber opponent in your league at this point in the season,” said Snow. “You can use it as a measuring tool to see where your team is at. Johnstown is a quality team. I’ve seen them play several times this year and I think it is going to be the traditional Johnstown-Utica matchup.”
The Johnnies are hoping to use it as a springboard into the remainder of their year.
“With how we have been practicing and our success — we didn’t do as well as I had hoped we would at Logan — I am hoping that I have gotten through to the girls,” said Allen. “The girls have responded well and have been working hard. I think we can match up well with them. We have played some teams like Maysville and Nelsonville York to help prepare us for this game. Is it a season breaker? No because we will have another shot at them later, but we will have to continue to win against the other teams in the conference.”
