Redskins take MBC lead

UTICA — It’s been 10 years since the 26-1 Utica High School girls basketball Final Four team stepped foot on its home court. The same night a decade later, the Redskins grabbed win no. 10 over Mid Buckeye Conference rivals Johnstown to become the lone leaders (6-0) in the race for an MBC title. After being honored before tip-off, members of the 1996-97 championship team sat back and enjoyed watching its alma mater capture a 64-41 win — with the exception of one teammate. Aimee Babb left the court and returned to the Johnstown bench to assume her duties as assistant coach.

“With the large crowd, the kids feel that energy, and the crowd did a great job getting into the game, especially early. Another thing is having this 1997 team here,” said Utica head coach Michelle Snow. “I think they feel like they have something not really that they want to prove so much as ‘Hey, we really appreciate what you did while you were here and we want to continue on the tradition that was built while you were playing.’ I think that meant a lot to them that these young ladies came back and wanted to see them play.”

The event couldn’t have happened on a better night of play for the Redskins — allowing the Johnnies to score only two points the first quarter of play. Utica took a commanding 29-10 lead at halftime. The Redskins’ full-court pressure proved to be too much to handle, contributing to 33 Johnstown turnovers. Utica ended the night with 25 steals — nine from Kaylee Walker, seven of which occurred in the first half.

“I think we did good defensively at the beginning and we talked about the pressure, but it’s hard to mimic their pressure. We had people come up and pressure us. If you get down on a team like this, it is hard to come back,” said Johnstown head coach Connie Allen.

“I know that getting a little cushion there early really calmed our nerves and that is exactly what we needed to do in the first half,” said Snow.

Three Redskin players ended the night in double digits. Walker and Sarah Metzger both picked up 16 points. Metzger shot 7-of-8 from the floor, and was perfect from the three-point range while Sierra Fletcher scored 10. Johnstown’s offense was led by Lauren Valentine, who barely missed a double-double by scoring nine points and pulling down 15 boards. Chelsea Cannon contributed with 10 points of her own.

“Johnstown has a very nice basketball team. Connie has did a great job of getting her kids to come out and play hard for 32 minutes,” Snow said.

Whether it was the crowd or the presence of the 1996-97 team, the Redskins proved why they are now the lone leaders in the race for the MBC title.

“It was amazing (the win) and it meant a lot because we wanted to make a shout out to all the other teams that, if we try hard enough, we can be an undefeated (MBC) team,” said Utica post Tricia Harvey.

Snow acknowledges the girls wouldn’t be where they are today if it weren’t for the “Redskin Pride,” which focuses on the tradition of the Utica girls basketball program. This year during preseason practice, Snow gave the team facts about the 1988 and 1997 players and coaches. If they came to practice without the answers, then they had to run.

“They knew right away, ‘Oh, wait a second. We really need to learn about this stuff and understand that it doesn’t just start when we were freshman. It started a long time ago when these young ladies are really the ones that built the program to where it is today,’” Snow said. “It helps them understand it’s not all about them. It is about a program and about a tradition.”

The visit from the 1996-97 team was special for Snow as well, who remembers coaching the team when they were in the eighth-grade, and talking to them about making it to state someday.

“It is kind of a bridge between the two teams that there is a little connection there,” Snow said.

In the junior varsity game, Utica defeated Johnstown, 49-8.

Utica hosts Northridge in a MBC contest on Saturday with the junior varsity tip-off scheduled at 1 p.m. while Johnstown travels to East Knox.