Staff photo / Dan Hiner Boardman’s Jocelynn Torres (44) drives to the basket during the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game against Howland at Boardman High School.

BOARDMAN — Sometimes basketball just comes down to execution.

The score didn’t quite describe the Boardman’s girls basketball team’s 72-54 loss to Howland. Boardman had chances to get back into the game, but each time, the Tigers came down with an offensive rebound, went on a short run or Spartans couldn’t convert on the offensive end.

“You can’t fault our effort, but just not making the smart plays and not playing together the way we have been the past few games,” Boardman head coach Annie Pavlansky said.

The Tigers couldn’t have had a better first quarter. They had 20 points scattered between four players, with Mia Thomas leading the way with eight.

Howland’s lead grew to 27-8 with just over five minutes to play in the second quarter. But the Spartans started to fight back.

Boardman (3-18, 0-8 All-American Conference) cut the lead to 35-21 with 1:35 left in the half. However, Howland’s offense was clicking, which kept the Spartans from closing the gap any further, and the Tigers took a 40-22 lead into the break.

“Howland came out playing hard, and our girls came out playing hard too, but just not always making the smart play, and it kinda just felt like we weren’t on the same page for a lot of the game,” Pavlansky said. “That slow first quarter … we just had too big of a hole to climb out of.”

Howland (5-15, 4-4 AAC) started the third similarly to the first. After giving up a three, the Tigers went on a 7-0 run to push their lead to 49-25 midway through the period.

The Spartans tried for one last push in the closing minutes of the fourth.

A three from Jocelynn Torres cut the deficit to 65-50 with 2:29 to play, and shortly after, the Spartans began fouling to extend the game. But the Tigers went on a 6-0 run over a 58-second span to put the game out of reach.

Torres led Boardman with 18 points, and Maddy Slevin ended the night with 17. Emma Terlesky added eight points.

Thomas finished with a game-high 21 points for the Tigers, Maya Kubanscek had 20 and Talia Rishel chipped in 15.

Wednesday’s loss closed the book on Boardman’s regular season. The Spartans have the Division III tournament coming up, and they will travel to Warrensville Heights for a 4 p.m. tip on Feb. 21 in a sectional final.

“We tell the girls, in tournament time, everyone is 0-0,” Pavalansky said. “Everyone has the same record, and we’re gonna go out and play hard and give our all. That’s what we tell the girls every game, and we’re not going to change the message. Come tournament, just give it your all.

“If you’re gonna go out, go out swinging knowing you did everything you possibly could, doing what you’ve been coached. When we do that, a lot of times we’ve been successful.”

SENIOR NIGHT CELEBRATION

Before the game, the Spartans honored their two seniors, Olivia Combis and Torres.

Combis couldn’t play because of a torn ACL, but she got to be on the court for the start of the game before returning to the bench.

“Jocelynn has shown up with a smile on her face every day, playing so hard. If anyone has watched her at all this year, she’s only improved,” Pavlansky said. “She plays so hard, she’s coachable, she plays for her teammates. You can’t say enough about her positive attitude – leadership by example, for sure. We’re gonna have big shoes to fill next year when this season comes to an end.

“Olivia Combis, too. She tore her ACL the last two years, and again, her positivity has been tremendous. She couldn’t play the last two years, but you can feel her presence in the program. She’s such a great example to our girls on the court, our girls on the bench. Just what it means to be a Boardman Spartan, to be committed and loyal to the program. And she’s done more than she can possibly know.”