Girls basketball: Leah DiFranco does family proud, scores 33 points to lead Midview past Vermilion in DiFranco Memorial Classic

EATON TWP. — It was only fitting that Leah DiFranco would have a big game in her family's namesake tournament Wednesday. DiFranco scored what at the time was a tournament-record 33 points as Midview bested Vermilion 58-44 in the first of six games at the 24th Annual DiFranco Memorial Classic at Midview High School. She topped the 32 points scored by Lorain's Devone Grant against Euclid in 2018. Keystone's Liam Goran broke her record with 35 points in Wednesday's last game. "I'm the last one available to play in the DiFranco tournament and, obviously, it means a lot to me, and I just wanted to come out and do whatever it took to win," DiFranco said. "This is just so amazing, there's a lot of my family here — there's a huge section of them — and they always pull for me and the team every game." The tournament is named for her grandfather, Bob, and uncle, Troy, both former Midview coaches. "I wanted her to get 40 today," said Middies coach Brittney McNamara, who returned from maternity leave for the game. "I told her I wanted her to get 40 and stop passing the ball. We played way better in the second half than the first. We were just slow going through the motions. "We're getting our footing and figuring it out, there will be some bumps and bruises throughout the way this year and we'll figure it out." The Middies (1-1) got off to a good start, leading 13-7 after the first quarter, but Vermilion (1-2) put things together in the second to go into halftime tied at 25. Jocelyn Alvarado was strong around the basket, scoring seven of her 16 points, while Claire Bartlome had seven of her team-high 20 points. The score stayed close early in the third until DiFranco scored eight straight points, including a 3-pointer, for a 36-32 lead. Jacinta Miller added two points, while Audrey Gerber dropped in a free throw to give the Middies a 41-35 lead heading into the fourth. Vermilion got a 3-pointer from Abby Gawry and a layin from Bartlome in cutting the lead to 43-40 early in the final period, but the Middies outscored the Sailors 15-4 the rest of the way. The Middies got two points from Leila Morgan, a 3-pointer from Riley Frei and five points each from DiFranco and Hunter Crum during the game-sealing run. "I thought it was neat when I talked to Bri (McNamara)," Sailors coach Doug Mihalic said of being asked to play at the Classic. "We were excited. I love playing on this court and I like the history of the court. We gave up nine threes and that's just too much for us to fire back to."When they went on that (finishing) run, that was it. It was great to see faces in the crowd and noise out there early in the year." Contact James Brady at (440) 329-7135 or jbrady_ct@yahoo.com. Midview 58, Vermilion 44 VERMILION (44): Sofia Schaffer 0-0-0, Jeighla Peak 0-0-0, Autum Rupel 0-0-0, Jazlyn Rayl 1-0-2, Grace Neely 0-0-0, Abby Gawry 2-0-6, Joscelyn Alvarado 7-2-16, Morgan Frenk 0-0-0, Claire Bartlome 8-3-20, Cassie Caffarel 0-0-0. Totals 18-5-44.MIDVIEW (58): Jordin Kinder 0-0-0, Leah DiFranco 11-6-33, Hannah Bacskay 0-0-0, Hunter Crum 4-0-11, Audrey Gerber 0-1-1, Riley Frei 1-0-3, Annabella Makowski 0-0-0, Amelia Volney 0-0-0, Jacinta Miller 1-0-2, Molly Ockuly 0-0-0, Ava Lewis 0-0-0, Leila Morgan 3-2-8, Harlee Crum 0-0-0. Totals 19-9-58. Vermilion&emsp;&emsp;9&emsp;&emsp;16&emsp;&emsp;10&emsp; &emsp;9&emsp;&emsp; — &emsp;44Midview&emsp;&emsp;13&emsp;&emsp;12&emsp;&emsp;16&emsp;&emsp;17&emsp;&emsp; —&emsp; 58 Three-point goals: Vermilion 3-16 (19 percent, Gawry 2, Bartlome), Midview 9-19 (47 percent, DiFranco 5, Hu. Crum 3, Frei); Field goals: Vermilion 18-50 (36 percent); Midview 19-49 (39 percent); Free throws: Vermilion 5-16 (31 percent); Midview 9-11 (82 percent); Rebounds: Vermilion 26, Midview 42; Vermilion 14, Midview 21; Fouled out: DiFranco