Massillon will have a chance to win their first back-to-back district championships in program history on Saturday after routing Akron Firestone 71-25 on Wednesday evening. The Tigers made quick work of the Falcons, making use of the numerous Firestone turnovers to run up a 37-7 halftime lead before finishing off the game with a running clock. They will travel to Medina on Saturday to take on 19-seed Avon (9-14) in the district final.
1st Half
Delaney Pierce started the scoring for the Tigers after a few back-and-forth misses and turnovers. She followed the opening score (a 3-pointer) with a layup off a steal. Pierce followed the bucket up with another steal off an inbounds pass and laid it home once more. Rylee Adams got in on the action with a steal and a putback score. Firestone finally broke through and scored to make it 2-9 in favor of Massillon. Pierce forced an over-and-back and followed it up with another steal and layup. Kynslie Williams took the ball away on the Falcon’s end and got it ahead to Lucy Herrera, who fed it to Pierce, who drilled a 3-pointer. Rylee Adams finished the 1st quarter with a 4-0 run of her own and Massillon led 20-4. She quickly added to the lead with a fastbreak layup to start the 2nd. Pierce found Jaryn Wolff under the basket for 2, and the Tigers continued to pile on the points off of Firestone turnovers. A lost ball led to a Hannah Nicola 3, a travel led to a Herrera jumper, and another travel put the ball in the hands of Pierce, who added to the big lead. Nicola finished up the half with a pair of steals and a bucket, and Massillon was all over Firestone with a score of 37-7.
2nd Half
Hannah Nicola opened the second half with a score, and Rylee Adams scored 3 a couple minutes into the 3rd quarter to set off a running clock. Mia Page nailed a 3 from the right corner and Delaney Pierce hit a buzzer-beating 3 to put Massillon up 54-11 after 3 quarters. The Tigers rained down 3s in the 4th quarter as Nicola hit a pair and the trio of Jaryn Wolff, Alyssa Jekubik, and Lucy Herrera would all drain triples. The game was quickly over, and the Tigers moved on with a 71-25 victory.
