Johnstown Flexes Early, Runs To Win At Mayfield

February 25, 2021

Johnstown 60, Mayfield 32

A Foothills Thursday... kinda? I've spent many Thursdays in the past covering Foothills basketball, but this was not 'many Thursdays'. February 25 signified the opening night of games in Fulton County, and with the county's five school districts playing amongst themselves for now, it'll make for some matchups that may not usually happen. This was one of them, as Mayfield (WAC) hosted Johnstown (Foothills) in a game that, at least this year, can be considered a 'league' matchup. Johnstown jumped on their hosts from the tip & gained all the separation they'd need before halftime en route to a victory.

Anna Lee helped Johnstown get going at the jump, as she scored 8 of her 12 in the 1st quarter in their win.

The game started off as a bit of a grind... unless your name was Anna Lee (Johnstown 2021, SUNY Brockport commit). While they were turning up the pressure defensively and keeping Mayfield off the scoreboard, she was able to get herself going offensively in the early stages. Two buckets & a free throw gave them a 5-0 lead, and they held Mayfield scoreless until Kelsey Meca (Mayfield 2022) got them on the board at the 2:29 mark. Lee answered with a three and Abby Chest (Johnstown 2024) hit two free throws in the final minute of the quarter, giving Johnstown their only non-Lee points of the frame and extending their lead to 10-2.

It would balloon from there in the 2nd quarter, as Johnstown forced a great deal of turnovers & and difficult shots and turned them into transition O. Sarah Pratt (Johnstown 2021) and Jaidyn Chest (Johnstown 2023) were key parts of the team effort and also became beneficiaries in the books, as the two teamed up to reel off 15 straight points over a chunk of 4:24 in the 2nd quarter. The last of those points, a Chest bucket that gave her 6 points in the quarter to go with Pratt's 9, extended the team's overall run to 24-0 and lead to 29-2. Johnstown led by as much as 29 in the 2nd quarter and went into intermission up 34-7.

Mayfield had a noticeably better 2nd half, thanks in large part to the scoring prowess of Cloey Dopp (Mayfield 2024). After ending the 1st half with a three, she started the 3rd quarter with another one & got rolling from there. She scored 10 in the quarter on her own, but the Panthers weren't able to cut into the deficit because Jaden Wilson (Johnstown 2022) had a big quarter herself. After playing limited minutes in the opening half due to foul trouble, she made a living in transition & around the rim, and her 11 points in the 3rd helped Johnstown keep pace with a 49-23 lead after 3. Dopp kept it up in the 4th, but the visitors' lead extended to as much as 31 on a Jaidyn Chest three and never let it get closer than 24.

Johnstown was balanced in the books in their season opening win. Jaden Wilson had 11 of her team high 13 points in the 3rd quarter, Anna Lee contributed 8 of her 12 in the 1st quarter, Sarah Pratt had 9 of her 11 in the 2nd quarter, and Jaidyn Chest added 9 points in the win. Cloey Dopp had a big 2nd half for Mayfield, where she produced 16 of her game high 20 points and hit 3 of her 4 threes.

Cloey Dopp turned it up after intermission and led all scorers with 20 points for Mayfield.

#ThoughtsFromTheBaseline

- The most important thing is simple. Great to have basketball back in Fulton County!

- Even in a normal Foothills/Class B year, Johnstown's guard depth would be a killer for many teams. In Fulton County, where all of their games are this winter, 'insurmountable' is a better word. They have skill, shooting ability, athleticism, & toughness coming from various players that can be thrown in the mix. They start age & a lot of experience. Anna Lee & Abby VandeWalker are seniors headed to play basketball at the D3 level, Anna at Brockport & Abby at Morrisville. Sarah Pratt is a senior that's a New Haven signee for field hockey. Meghan Mraz is another senior with a few years of varsity experience, and Jaden Wilson - who plays a pseudo-forward for Johnstown but will also be a guard at the next level - is a junior that's also been around seemingly since the dawn of time. Now, enter the Chests. I was familiar with sophomore Jaidyn Chest already, but this was my first time realizing you could see double and really not be able to turn the corner with freshman Abby Chest on the court too. Abby was impressive early as a spark plug that helped turn up the defensive heat & push the pace, and Jaidyn did her thing as the game went on, showing some ability to get creative off the dribble to open up scoring opportunities. Mix that exceptional guard depth with their physical activity & mental focus on the defensive end, and you can see why I'm glad I got the chance to watch them work at least once this winter.

Jaden Wilson, despite playing limited minutes due to early foul trouble and the large 2nd half margin, led Johnstown with 13 points in the W.

- I just talked about Johnstown's age... well, Mayfield's age is 'young'. No seniors and only one junior on the roster, so they'll be around for a while. How good they end up? Obviously depends heavily on things such as their development, how much work they put in on the game, etc., but they do have someone that can be a go-to player for years to come in Cloey Dopp. People in the WAC are probably familiar with Cloey by now, but most others might not... here's your intro. I've seen her play a handful of times before, but this was without question the most impressed I've been. She's a good perimeter shooter with a smooth looking stroke, something that's been a part of her game. What she showed more of (to me) was the willingness to put it on the floor, try to create off the dribble, and get into the midrange for a pull-up jumper or floater. She also showed the willingness & IQ to move without the ball, a willingness to pass, and although I think her skillset lends more naturally to the 2, she was able to play on the ball a lot. On top of that, she's got decent height & length in the backcourt - I think she's grown a bit since the last time I saw her play. How good will Cloey become? Time will tell; that'll depend on various things. But in a 2024 class that already has Section 2 players developing notable profiles, Cloey definitely showed she's one to keep tabs on going forward.

- It's like 3:15 AM, I'm tired, so I'm ending it here. A major thank you goes out to Mayfield head coach Brian Moore and the athletic administration for allowing media (including me) in the gym to check this one out!