Johnstown comes up short in tourney run

• Paige Cannon had 16 points and 10 rebounds in her final game.

WESTERVILLE – Johnstown showed the spirit it used throughout a dynamite second half of the season after halftime Friday night.

Unfortunately, the hole the third-seeded Johnnies dug themselves proved to be just barely too deep. Johnstown chopped a 16-point deficit to three, but got no closer, falling 41-37 to ninth-seeded Bishop Hartley (13-11) in a Division II district final at Westerville Central.

The Johnnies (21-5), who won 15 of their past 16 games coming in, finished as district runners-up for the second consecutive season, and the record-setting career of Paige Cannon came to an end. She had 16 points and 10 rebounds in her final game.

"It was a great basketball season for me, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in my life because I got to play with my best friends," said Cannon, who graduates along with fellow starters Kerrigan Williams and Adeline Almendinger.

For a brief moment, Johnstown appeared it might extend that season at least another game. The Johnnies trailed 35-19 midway through the third quarter when Cannon breathed life into them.

Cannon first went coast-to-coast with a rebound, slaloming through Hawks and finishing with a layup. Cannon then stole the inbound pass and turned it into a three-point play, cutting the deficit to 11 in the blink of an eye.

"We knew we had to pick up the tempo," Johnstown coach Carl Dufford said. "We started trapping and gambling, but Hartley moved the ball very well. I can't fault the kids' effort."

After being blanketed by Sydney Williams away from the basket during the first half, Cannon muscled her way into the paint during the second and did most of her work on the offensive glass.

Cannon's second putback of the half cut the deficit to 39-33, and Maddi Lusk followed with a 3-pointer to make it 39-36. The Johnnies twice had chances to pull closer in the final minutes, but they missed a jumper and Hartley star Marissa Brown followed with a key block.

"I just can't believe that it's the end," Cannon said. "It makes it knowing that I did with my very best friends and that we played our hearts out and left it all out on the court."

Cannon, who earlier this week was named the Central District's Player of the Year, set a bevy of single-game and season records while also finishing her career as the school's all-time leader in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals.

"It's going to be a while before we see another Paige Cannon," Dufford said. "Not only is she a great player, but you can't ask for a better person."

Lusk added 12 points for the Johnnies, who shot 41 percent and had a slight 23-22 rebounding edge. Brown, who beat Lakewood in the final seconds of a second-round game, led the Hawks with 16 points.

Johnstown graduated three starters, who combined for 11 years of varsity experience, from its 2013-14 team, but the Johnnies finished this season right where they did a season ago.

"A lot of people didn't think we would get back to this level because of the seniors we lost, but I felt deep down with the type of kids we had we would get back," Dufford said.

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @newarkurt