Girls Basketball: Midview opens DiFranco Classic with win over Vermilion

EATON TWP. — Whose house? Leah's house. Leah DiFranco, playing in her last DiFranco Classic, which is named after her grandfather Bob and uncle Troy, went off for 10 of her game-high 19 points in the third quarter Wednesday as Midview gave itself breathing room in knocking off Vermilion 53-43. DiFranco had plenty of help holding off the Sailors (1-2), as senior Hunter Crum knocked down three 3-pointers on her way to 15 points and sophomore Leila Morgan scored 13 in the Middies' season-opening win. "It's an honor to come out here and represent my family, it's such a good cause to keep the legacy of my grandpa and uncle alive," said DiFranco, who will be the final girl to represent the family in the tournament for the foreseeable future. "It's an honor to be the last girl. We have a boy coming up on the way." Vermilion looked like the team that had a couple of games under its belt, working the ball inside as Emma Gebhardt scored four points and Jazlyn Rayl and Abby Gawry each scored three for a 10-8 lead late in the first quarter. Crum gave the lead back to the Middies for good, though, draining a 3-pointer with eight seconds. The Sailors never retook the lead, but they certainly didn't make things easy for the Middies. Sophomore Morgan Frenk dominated inside in the second quarter, scoring eight of her 14 points, and Gawry kept it going in the third with six of her 12 points. A Jocelyn Alvarado 3-point play for the Sailors with 2:18 left in the third cut the Midview lead to 37-35, but that's when Morgan, Audrey Gerber and DiFranco provided breathing room for the Middies by scoring the final eight points of the period. Morgan hit a short turnaround jumper, DiFranco scored the last of her 10 points in the third with a driving basket, Gerber drilled a three and Morgan split a pair of free throws for a 45-35 advantage. Morgan made it a 10-0 run as Vermilion went scoreless for just over four minutes as it fell behind 47-35. "I think we had some first-game jitters, especially from the younger girls," Middies coach Brittany McNamara said. "We were waiting for them (DiFranco and Crum) to be on the same page. Leah is a slasher, and Hunter is there to wait (to shoot)." The Sailors got no closer than seven the rest of the way as McNamara improved to 5-0 coaching in the home tournament. "This is always fun, we used to coach against (Troy), he would always talk to me as an assistant coach, it's an important event," Vermilion coach Doug Mihalic said. "(Leah) is probably the front-runner for Miss Basketball, she is an outstanding player, and we did what we could." Contact James Brady at (440) 329-7135 or jbrady_ct@yahoo.com. MIDVIEW 53, VERMILION 43 VERMILION (43): Kate Smith 0-0-0, Sofia Shaffer 0-0-0, Jazlyn Rayl 1-1-3, Emma Gebhardt 3-0-6, Abby Gawry 5-2-12, Joscelyn Alvarado 1-5-7, Morgan Frenk 5-4-14, Maggie Falknor 0-1-1, Cassie Caffarel 0-0-0, Avery Jonavich 0-0-0. Totals 15-13-43. MIDVIEW (53): Leah DiFranco 8-3 19, Hunter Crum 6-0-15, Leila Morgan 6-1-13, Riley Frei 0-0-0, Harlee Crum 0-0-0, Millie Volney 0-2-2, Jacinta Miller 0-0-0, Audrey Gerber 1-1-4. Totals 21-7-53. Vermilion 10 14 11 8 — 43 Midview 11 18 16 8 — 53 Three-point goals: Vermilion 0-6 (0 percent), Midview 4-8 (50 percent, DiFranco 3, Gerber). Field goals: Vermilion 15-48 (31 percent); Midview 21-49 (43 percent). Free throws: Vermilion 13-23 (57 percent); Midview 7-14 (50 percent). Rebounds: Vermilion 33, Midview 38 Turnovers: Vermilion 13, Midview 18