Girls Basketball: Johnstown rallies from double digits down to beat Harvest Prep
Sunday, December 17, 2023
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Johnstown’s Abigail Adkins shoots the runner against Harvest Prep during the Johnnies’ win at the “Battle in the 614” Dec. 17 at Ohio Dominican. Photo: Kevin Lam
Becoming postseason-ready is one of the Johnstown girls basketball team’s biggest goals, and it viewed its matchup against defending Division III district champion Harvest Prep on Sunday in the Battle in the 614 at Ohio Dominican as a vital opportunity to progress toward that endeavor.
The way senior Abigail Adkins sees it, having her team rally from a double-digit deficit to beat the Warriors 53-50 gives them an extra boost of confidence in that pursuit. Johnstown, which was a district runner-up in 2022 but lost in a second-round tournament game last season when it went 15-9 overall, has won three in a row and is 5-3 overall.
“I’m comfortable with us going into the tournament now,” Adkins said. “We’ve had a tough schedule, but if we didn’t have the tough schedule we’ve had, I can’t tell you if we’d have won this game.”
With the Warriors leading 31-20 at the half, the Johnnies began chipping away at the lead behind strong outside shooting and improved defense.
Adkins hit a pair of 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 33-26, and a 3-pointer from junior Kylie Sharp with 48 seconds to go in the third quarter was part of a 7-0 run to close the period as the Johnnies got to within 39-35.
Sharp hit another 3 with 3 minutes, 49 seconds remaining to tie it at 44.
Johnstown’s Kylie Sharp drives the lane against Harvest Prep during the “Battle in the 614” at Ohio Dominican Dec. 17. Photo: Kevin Lam
“I’m an outside shooter, but I can do anything with the ball inside the paint and outside the paint,” Sharp said. “But I couldn’t do anything with the ball without my teammates always bringing the ball up the court to give us open looks.”
A 3-pointer from freshman Payton Schneider with 2:38 remaining gave Johnstown a 49-46 lead that it didn’t relinquish.
Harvest Prep got to within 51-50 with 7.3 seconds left on a basket by sophomore Israelle Smith. Adkins was fouled with 6.6 seconds to go and missed both foul shots, but she got the rebound after her second miss and hit two free throws with 2.8 left to close the scoring.
The rally reminded Adkins of the 2022 district tournament when the Johnnies rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat Cardington in a district semifinal.
“We’ve been in this situation before,” Adkins said. “Our coach, even if we’re down 20, believes in us that we can come back. Everybody plays such a vital role on this team. Everybody does (their part).”
Harvest Prep dropped to 4-4 following a season in which it went 21-6 and won its first district championship since 2011.
Harvest Prep’s Israelle Smith shoots during the Warriors’ game with Johnstown in the “Battle of the 614” at Ohio Dominican Dec. 17. Photo: Kevin Lam
In addition to losing standout guard Cristyn Anthony – who now competes for Wilberforce – to graduation, the Warriors have played all season without senior guard Camryn Woods and the last three games without sophomore Janiyah Wilson. While Woods likely will be out for the season, coach Lee Sims Jr. is hopeful Wilson can return later this winter.
Harvest Prep sophomore Maliyah Lofton scored 18 first-half points but was held in check most of the second half and finished with 22.
“It’s definitely been a learning experience for us,” Sims said. “We’re playing two freshmen a lot of minutes, so it’s going to help us in the long run. The schedule we made this year is going to help us a lot. We’ve got those freshmen, and obviously some of the others are sophomores with a little bit more experience, but this gives us an opportunity to get reps against good teams.
“(Lofton) has grown. She handles the ball a lot more, she distributes a lot more, and runs the team a lot more. We’ve asked her to do a lot more this year, and she’s more than capable.”
Adkins finished with 20 points and Sharp had 18 for the Johnnies, who have 15 players on their roster after having just nine total players in their program a season ago.
“Today a couple of our freshmen played the majority of the game, and it’s a great game for them to get that experience in,” Johnstown coach Scott Helmke said. “Today we saw what we can do. We’ve (won) three in a row and I think we’re coming. I’m happy with where we’re going, but we can’t take any time off because we’re not good enough to do that. (Harvest Prep) is a good team and it’s a huge (win).”
Harvest Prep’s Maliyah Lofton (right) led all scorers with 22 points in the Warriors’ game with Johnstown at Ohio Dominican Dec. 17. Photo: Kevin Lam