Girls Sectional Basketball: Olivia DiFranco does it all as Midview ousts Westlake

EATON TWP. — Sophomore Olivia DiFranco does more than score for Midview. "Oh, my gosh, yes," said coach Brittney McNamara. "Her defensive ability, her length on defense, the way she can rebound and really be able to be a facilitator, as well. She's the whole package." DiFranco handled the ball, made great feeds and played terrific defense Thursday as the third-seeded Middies (18-5) advanced to the district semifinals of the Elyria Division I tournament with a 55-48 win over No. 12 Westlake. It's the second year in a row Midview has eliminated the Demons. The Middies will play No. 6 Magnificat at Elyria Catholic on Tuesday. By the way, DiFranco scored 24 points. "Even though we knew we beat them last year, that doesn't say anything," DiFranco said. "We're on our court this year and really wanted to show them. They're a very talented team and it was going to be a hard game." McNamara felt her team was motivated to win. Many thought Westlake (13-9) should have been seeded higher than 12th. "They came after us in the brackets and what not," said McNamara. "We just take it one game at a time. It was a good measuring stick for us." A strong start and a 14-2 run at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth were the keys for Midview. The Middies jumped in front by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, only to see the Demons whittle it all the way down. In fact, Westlake took a 34-33 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter when the Middies settled matters. "We called a huddle," DiFranco said. "We said: 'We don't want this to be our last game. It's not going to be our last game.' "We had to make that decision for ourselves and that's what we did." Mary Meng, who dominated inside with 17 rebounds and 14 points, hit a rebound bucket and two free throws to take back the lead. After a short basket by Westlake's Katie Whitesell off a nice pass from Lydia Tymoszcuk, Midview ran off the next 10 points for a 47-36 lead with 4:23 remaining in the game. The Demons could get no closer than six the rest of the way. "We were facing an uphill battle throughout the game with two of our players (in foul trouble)," Westlake coach Cory Rojeck said. "Anna (Williams) and Morgan (Kress) are really important for us defensively. It was hard for us with both of them having four fouls to play that game." "This is our last game here (at Midview)," Meng said. "We knew we either win or we're done. I definitely thought that was our motivation. A lot of people didn't expect us to win this game. That motivated us, too." DiFranco had two nice feeds to cap the run. On the first, she hit Grace Seymour under the basket for a layin, and on the next possession kicked it out to Grace Milano for a 3-pointer. Meng led the rebounding, but Milano and DiFranco each had eight and Erica Baldoza seven. Midview won the board battle 39-31. "When the girls buy in like that, every single girl buys in," McNamara said. "At the beginning of the season it wasn't that way. They found out it's not just Mary that has to rebound. They all do." "Credit to Midview," said Rojeck. "Midview's a good basketball team and they made more plays than we did at the end. "This is the hard thing. At some point, every team's season ends. At that point, when it does, it's always emotional. You're not sad or emotional because you lost, you're sad or emotional because you don't come back to practice (Friday). There's not a team meal on Saturday." Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com. Midview 55, Westlake 48 Westlake (48): Anna Williams 2-0-4, Katie Whitesell 6-1-13, Abbie Gardner 6-0-12, Lauryn Stanton 1-0-2, Morgan Kress 2-0-5, Sarah Colman 0-0-0, Ella Henton 2-0-6, Lydia Tymoszczuk 2-0-6. Totals 21-1-48. Midview (55): Grace Seymour 1-1-3, Erica Baldoza 3-0-7, Mary Meng 5-4-14, Grace Milano 2-1-7, Olivia DeFranco 7-9-24, Maggie Barnes 0-0-0, Riley Willard 0-0-0.Totals 18-15-55. Westlake 9 15 12 12 — 48 Midview 17 11 12 15 — 55 Three-point goals: Westlake 5-12 (Henton 2, Tymoszcuk 2, Kress), Midview 4-14 (Milano 2, Baldoza, DiFranco). Field goals: Westlake 21-46 (46 percent), Midview 18-52 (35 percent). Free throws: Westlake 1-6 (17 percent), Midview 15-21 (71 percent). Rebounds: Westlake 31 (Gardner 8), Midview 39 (Meng 17). Turnovers: Westlake 13, Midview 11. Fouls: Westlake 16, Midview 9. Fouled Out: None