CANFIELD — It was a sluggish start for both Canfield and Cuyahoga Falls in their Division I sectional bracket final Thursday night.

Though the fourth-seeded Cardinals found their footing enough while the fifth-seeded Black Tigers never fully overcame Canfield’s runs as the Cardinals used them to coast to a 53-34 victory.

“They were a really good team,” Canfield coach Matt Reel said. “Sometimes you don’t look real good going against them. I think as time went on, we got a bit more comfortable. That was a good team we beat. I’m real proud of their effort.”

The Cardinals (17-7) only had six players in scoring figures and were led by Grace Mangapora’s game-high 23 points.

Those points came despite Mangapora picking up her third foul with 1:35 left in the third quarter and then her fourth foul with 5:33 left in the game.

“It was kind of difficult in a game that’s very loud, very fast and aggressive the whole time,” Mangapora said. “It’s kind of hard to stay our of foul trouble when you are so into it. When you realize you are in foul trouble, I’ve learned to control it over the years when I know have three of four. That’s the time were you calm and focus really hard on your defense.”

She definitely did that down the stretch, scoring nine points in that final quarter and staying aggressive as she got to the line to make 7-of-8 free throws.

“Grace has been in these situations a lot for us,” Reel said. “She’s been playing varsity for four years. We trust her in these situations to do what needs to be done. She’s a smart basketball player. She’s really versatile, and she’s a really tough cover. We go as she goes. We want to get her as many shots as possible. She makes us look good.”

Mangapora’s late-game scoring was needed because of a slow start.

Canfield led by four after one quarter, and an Aiden Orlovsky basket made it 17-9 midway through the second quarter, but the Black Tigers (14-10) responded with a mini 4-0 run.

Reel called a timeout with 2:47 left in the half and calmed his team down, letting them know that runs will happen.

“We always want to limit those runs and keep them from being bigger,” he said. “We did that for the most part.”

Canfield responded and pushed the lead to 21-13. After a Mackenzie Kramar bucket made it 21-15, Cuyahoga Falls had a chance to again cut to four, but Chelsea Huffman missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Summer Sammarone got the rebound and went coast-to-coast to make it 23-15 right before halftime.

“Summer’s basket right at the end of the half, that was a real momentum boost for us,” Reel said. “It kind of stunted a bit of a run they were having.”

Cuyahoga Falls’ coach Joe Nowak was quick to note that the slow start and lack of continued success on the offensive end put his team in a hole.

“The slow start definitely didn’t help,” he said. “That was probably the one thing we couldn’t afford to happen, and it did. We rebounded well from it, but on the road in an environment like this against a team that is successful year in and year out, you can’t afford to beat yourself. A lot of times in the first half, those self-inflicted woulds really got to us. That was a huge difference.”

Still, the Black Tigers got the game back within four in the third quarter after a Jenna Roberts’ 3. Canfield again responded and closed the quarter on a 13-0 run to make it 37-20 heading into the fourth quarter.

“We were resilient all year,” Nowak said. “We had some adversity throughout the year like everyone does, and we responded well as you saw tonight. If you can’t weather storm or stop a team from going on a 13-0 run, especially this time of year, it’s going to be tough to rebound from that. They did a nice job extending the lead and keeping us at bay.”

Canfield made three 3s in the quarter on 4-of-11 shooting while holding Cuyahoga Falls to just 2-of-13.

Cuyahoga Falls’ team leader in scoring, Hoffman, was held essentially in check at this point with just six points. She finished with a team-high 15.

“I think the people we put on Huffman, who’s an outstanding player, did a pretty good job of containing her,” Reel said. “I thought as time went on we figured out what their strengths were, and we did a nice job of taking those away.”

For Canfield, they’ve started the tournament off well with 33- and 19-point wins.

Next, they’ll get a rematch with Warren G. Harding, who beat them 49-39 back on Jan. 8, when they play Tuesday at Ravenna High School.

“We’ve played two tournament games, and we’ve played well,” Reel said. “I think we’re playing really good basketball. I think we’re going to be a tough out — no matter who we play. I’m excited to be able to practice with these girls another three days. It’s really been an enjoyable group to coach.”