Staff photo / Dan Hiner. Canfield’s Sophia Castronova, center, tries to shield the ball while being defended by Howland’s Talia Rishel and Maya Kubancsek (31) during the first quarter of Thursday’s game at Howland High School.

HOWLAND — The Canfield girls basketball team made it difficult for Howland to get into a flow on Wednesday night. Starting in the second quarter, whenever the Tigers tried to inbound the ball, they saw a sea of Cardinal hands flying their way.

That defensive effort helped propel the Cardinals to a 66-39 win over their All-American Conference opponent at Howland High School.

“They were trying to go inside against us, so we had to back off a little from what we normally do,” Canfield head coach Matt Reel said. “And I thought we had some active hands with deflections. I thought that was a huge key for us.

“When you can pressure up top … you got some quick guards up there. They did a really nice job pressuring in the second quarter, and I thought that rattled them a little bit. We got some hands on some things and got some offense off that. When that gets goin’, your halfcourt feels a lot better.”

The Tigers got some early offense and scored six of the first eight points of the game. But Carly Fleming tied the game with a pair of steals, which she converted for layups.

Canfield (13-2, 3-0 AAC) scored six straight points to take a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, and once it got the lead, the defense took over.

The Cardinals’ press started to pay off. They started forcing turnovers around the halfcourt line, kickstarting an 11-0 run that increased their lead to 26-14. That allowed the Cardinals to gain control and take a 31-17 lead into the break.

Canfield’s defense continued to play well to start the second half. The Tigers were held off the board for the first three minutes of the third quarter, all the while, the Cardinals extended their lead.

Howland (2-11, 1-1 AAC) started getting some shots to fall in the closing minutes of the third, but Canfield held a 52-27 lead at the end of the quarter.

Then both teams cleared their benches with 2:14 remaining in the fourth.

The Tigers got 14 points from Talia Rishel, and Maya Kubancsek also reached double-digit scoring with 13.

Canfield’s Jenna Triveri scored 16 points to lead all scorers. Sophia Castronova added 15 points, and Carly Fleming finished with 11.

“(Triveri’s) been battling a lot injury-wise, and she’s finally getting healthy,” Reel said. “She’s looking more like herself and she’s regained her confidence. To see her get going is a good thing, and getting some easy layups opens up everything for everybody. I thought everybody made really good decisions tonight on when to pass and when to shoot.”

Wednesday’s win was the fourth straight for the Cardinals, and defense has played a big part in their recent success.

During their four-game winning streak, the Cardinals have held their opponents to 29.5 points per game. And against the Tigers, forcing 19 turnovers helped continue that defensive dominance.

“When our pressure got more active when we were in the halfcourt, I thought we got more active too,” Reel said. “They did a really nice job of putting people in places we weren’t used to. I was proud of how we adapted, putting people in the right places. And they fixed a lot of things themselves on the court.”