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Olivia DiFranco has had a tremendous freshman season at Midview with plenty of great moments. Perhaps none bigger than her buzzer beater tonight to help Midview defeat Westlake 36-34 in thrilling fashion. A memory that she is sure to play back in her head time and time again.
After an Izzy Patarini bucket made it 34-25 early into the fourth, Midview would not score again until the buzzer beater. Summer Salem and Abbie Gardner combined to go on a 9 run over the games final minutes to tie it at 34 before the big shot. Westlake had two fouls to give, but couldn’t get to Olivia in time before she got the shot off.
This Midview team is special, and this game was not the upset some may think it was. They work hard, they bring constant energy and they are coached well. Most of all, they believe in themselves and have a coach who can inspire. It’s a deadly combination and I’m excited to see how far they go.
The Salem Gardner connection was all the offense Westlake could muster in the second half. As Salem would finish the game and her career at Westlake with 12 big points, while Gardner had 12 as well, with 6 of those coming from the charity stripe. All 24 combined points coming in the second half. Morgan Kress was also a presence tonight off the bench with 4 blocked shots and 3 points.
For Midview, Autumn Vance and Maddie Huge each had 6, while Emma Barnes had 5. Also scoring for the Middies was Olivia DiFranco with 6, Mya DiFranco with 3, Jordan Reddinger with 2 and they were led by Izzy Patarini with 8.
The Middies began the game on a 7-0 run thanks in part to 2 each from Izzy Patarini and Emma Barnes while Mya DiFranco drained a three ball. The Demons would come back and cut the lead to 9-7 before Emma Barnes drained a three ball to make it 12-7 after 1.
A dominant second quarter by Midview ran their lead out to 23-9 as Westlake didn’t make a single field goal until the buzzer beating three ball from Anna Williams. The Middies would go on to control the pace some more in the third, preserving a 32-23 lead as we headed to the games final quarter.
Midview will now go on to face Medina. I spoke with Midview head coach Jessy Bendik who had this to say after the game about her team’s nonstop energy, “We pride ourselves on our energy. I have to give Grace Seymour and Grace Milano major credit as they have been saddled by injury and took that role and showing that everyone is involved. They help keep that energy going even when they are not playing. They know the was we energize is the way we play.”
