Correspondent photo / Adam Zampedro The McDonald Blue Devils won a Division IV district title on Saturday with a 50-28 win over Newton Falls.

McDONALD — Relentless, smothering defense. They say that defense wins championships. That mantra couldn’t have been more true when Newton Falls visited McDonald on Saturday afternoon with the Division IV district title on the line.

The Blue Devils got a hand on nearly every pass the Tigers attempted as McDonald earned another district championship with a 50-28 triumph.

“We’ve been playing shutdown defense all year,” McDonald coach Tony Matisi said. “Honestly, that was our game plan coming in. We really wanted to ramp it up because Newton Falls likes to control pace. We knew we couldn’t let them walk it down, and run a minute off the clock. We had to force the pace. We had to force the issue.”

McDonald did that from the start. Sophia Costantino came out on fire, scoring nine of her game-high 16 points in the first quarter, as McDonald led 17-10 at the end of one. She swished a 3-pointer from the corner. Then, stole the ball, and finished with a lay-up, helping the Devils gain the early advantage.

Newton Falls fought hard to stay in it as the second quarter unfolded. Courtney Hankins ripped down a rebound and tossed an outlet to Madison Haidet. Haidet gave it back to Hankins, who finished, and the Tigers cut into the lead. Bree Hutson (team-high 12 points) picked up a loose ball, and flipped it in the hoop to get the Tigers a little closer.

“We had some unfortunate, just bad bounces,” Newton Falls coach Mark Baker said. “We had it at 22-17 in the second quarter. We got into foul trouble in the second half. But, give McDonald credit. They gave a great defensive effort, and played a fantastic game. Good luck to them.”

Molly Howard (10 points) nailed one from downtown. Taylor Tuchek (10 points) took it all the way for the score, and Brooke Lewis buried a jumper from the top of the key. McDonald began to pull away, and took a 29-17 halftime lead.

“We saw it turning at the end of the second quarter a little bit,” Matisi said. ” Then, in that third quarter, we put the pedal on the gas, and took off.”

Jalynn Nicholas made a 3-pointer to begin the third for Newton Falls. Unfortunately for the Tigers, those were the only points they would get in the quarter.

Maddy Howard almost spent more time on the floor than standing, as she was constantly diving after the ball. Molly Howard swiped the ball, and dribbled through the defense, for the score. McDonald was up 39-20 heading to the fourth.

The McDonald roster is packed with seniors. Matisi took the starters out with 1:30 left to a standing ovation from the crowd. The players all hugged in celebration.

Junior Lucia Wolford was a huge part of the win. Her effort on both ends of the court helped propel McDonald to the next round.

“We played really hard,” Wolford said. “We kind of started a little slow. In the third quarter, we took over and played our game. I’m excited for the next game. It’s our third matchup of the year with Western Reserve. Our last game went to overtime. I’m just ready to show them what we’ve got.”

McDonald won each of the previous meetings and will play Western Reserve in the regional on Thursday at Massillon Perry.

“We’ve been pointing to it all year,” Matisi said. “We probably both knew we were going to meet again. We know so much about each other. I think it’s going to be a battle.”