by MEDINA, OH- Tuesday’s Regional Semi Final was an absolute show. Midview picked up a huge 70-45 win to move on to Saturday’s Championship game against Solon.
The first quarter of ball was action packed. A ton of talent was on display early, and a packed crowd intensified the game even more.
Immediately Bowling Green commit Mary Meng made her presence felt with a couple of blocks and made layups. Meng wasn’t the whole story for Midview, though. Junior Olivia DiFranco was quickly in double digits for scoring and electrified the Middie student section after a huge and-one was paired with a three pointer on back-to-back possessions.
After the game Head Coach Brittney McNamara said, “Two of the best… Program Changers.”
On the other end, the duo of Rylee Bennett and Emma Rasmussen led the way for the Knights, but trailed MHS by one after the first quarter.
After being down 16-15 after the first, the Midview defense put the clamps on.
Early in the second quarter, Midview was able to get some separation on the scoreboard. After Olivia DiFranco got a steal leading to a layup, the next possession she found Senior Grace Seymour in the corner for a three.
The Middie lead was growing by the minute, as DiFranco could not be stopped. Seemingly every 30 seconds there was a DiFranco steal and layup, followed by a Meng block on defense.
With 3 minutes left in the half, the Midview lead was up to fifteen and Hoban Coach Pamela Davis was forced to take a timeout.
The timeout was unable to swing the momentum though. The Knights only were able to score one point in the quarter, as the unbearable Midview defense didn’t allow a single field goal in the quarter.
Going into the half, Midview lead 36-16.
In the second half the sister connection was unreal. Mya kept finding Olivia, and vice versa. In the meantime, Meng kept doing her thing racking up rebounds, layups, and blocks.
In the final quarter the story stayed the same. Olivia DiFranco got back on the scoreboard quick, giving her a 30 piece for the game.
”She’s 32 minutes away from going to states, it’s huge in her mind and I think she wants to get to that next point of stapling her name at Midview High School” said Coach McNamara.
The players of the game were Olivia DiFranco with 34 points, and Mary Meng with 17 points paired with what seemed like a million rebounds and blocks.
Midview moves on to face Solon in Saturday’s Regional Final.
