ALLIANCE The two Mahoning County underdogs didn't come Thursday night just to take their beatings. They threw some punches of their own and nearly completed a startling sweep of the Division I girls basketball district semifinals.

"In my 27 years of coaching basketball, I don't think we've ever been a bigger underdog than we were tonight," Boardman coach Ron Moschella said after using three freshmen and a sophomore in his rotation.

The Vikings (19-3) trailed for the majority of the second quarter. Their usually potent transition game slowed to a halt against Canfield's zone.

"I really was worried about us worrying about losing, playing not to win," Wackerly said, admitting Firestone's upset of Wadsworth on Wednesday made the Vikings think.

The Vikings used a 12-1 run during the final 2:45 of the third quarter to take control. But the Cardinals didn't wilt like they had in a 25-point loss to the Vikings in January. When Bryanne Halfhill drained a 3-pointer with 1:13 left, the game was tied, 45-45.

Hoover dribbled almost 40 seconds off the clock before Jackie Nicodemo was fouled. The junior guard nailed a pair of 1-and-1s. After a costly Canfield turnover, a Stephanie Gibson free throw had Hoover up 48-45 with 9.7 seconds left.

Hoover fouled a 3-point shooter with 1.2 seconds left, but Canfield missed the first attempt and couldn't corral the rebound after intentionally missing the third.

"I don't care about the turnovers," Canfield coach Pat Pavlansky said. "I think our girls played as tough as they could, and I'm real proud of them."

Hoover sophomore Jessica Carpenter hit a 3 in each quarter and finished with a team-high 14 points. Junior Brittany Orban added 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Orban hit some big buckets in the third quarter when the Vikings were desperate for offense.

Gibson had 7 points and five assists as she set Hoover's single-season assist record (133), passing Katie Glaw's 132 in 2001. Nicodemo added 6 points and three steals, including a big jumper in the third.

"We rely a lot on Steph and Brittany obviously, but we know other people are going to have to step up," Nicodemo said. "We've done it before so much that this was not new territory."

Boardman led by 10 early in the third and maintained a cushion for most of the quarter. But things got tight in the fourth. Sarah Milligan's 3-pointer for McKinley tied the game at 56 with 1:30 left.

The Spartans answered when Makala Gasparek hit a scoop shot off a Moore steal, getting fouled in the process and converting the 3-point play as the Spartan bench exploded in celebration.

"We were never in rhythm because we could not control the paint," McKinley coach Pam Davis said. "Moore ate us for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

Boardman senior Staci Wahlman scored 8 of her 13 points in the third quarter as Moore sat with foul trouble. Freshman Doriyon Glass, with all of six practices and two games under her belt because of a knee injury, rarely came off the floor and finished with 12 points.

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