The Canal Winchester High School girls basketball team has struggled to score consistently this season, having gone 5-1 in games in which it has scored 45 or more points and 0-13 in games in which it was held to 44 or fewer points.

Nevertheless, coach Gary Burke is confident his team will execute its offense in its Division I district tournament opener against sixth-seeded Gahanna on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at Hilliard Davidson, if the Indians can take care of the ball in the face of the Lions’ defensive pressure.

The winner will play Logan or Olentangy Liberty in the second round Feb. 21 at Davidson.

“Gahanna is long, quick and athletic, so this game will be a challenge,” Burke said. “The biggest thing is we’ll need to handle the pressure they put on us with their full-court press. If we handle their press, I think we’ll have an opportunity to do some things well against their defense.”

The Indians had a slew of turnovers against defensive pressure while averaging 39.3 points and getting out to a 2-10 start, but they have averaged 47.6 points while winning three of their past seven games.

“Defensive pressure was a big problem for us early this season, but we’ve gotten through it and are no longer letting one turnover turn into four or five turnovers,” Burke said. “All of the kids have a better understanding of what they need to do and where they need to be against the different presses.”

Kaleigh Whitlatch and Carrie Strawser are each averaging 9.3 points to lead the Indians, followed by Katie Hahn (5.5), Sarah Miles (5.5), Taylor Thompson (4.9) and Raven Hamilton (4.2).

Hahn and Strawser each scored 14 points and Whitlatch scored 11 during a 60-41 win over Hamilton Township on Feb. 4.

“We’ve been more patient on offense and we’re getting better shots,” Burke said. “Different kids are learning where they need to go offensively, and different kids are starting to contribute. Sarah Miles, in particular, is playing more aggressive and physical basketball the second half of the season.”

Gahanna lost to Pickerington North 53-43 on Feb. 3 to drop to 13-5. The Lions played Grove City on Feb. 7 and conclude the regular season Friday, Feb. 10, at Reynoldsburg.

Junior point guard Quiera Lampkins scored 13 points and junior guard Chrishna Butler scored eight points for the Lions against North.

Burke said his squad expects to mostly play man-to-man defense against Gahanna, which also is led by junior post players Maddison Blackwell (6-foot-1) and Zenobia Bess (6-0).

“We like to play man-to-man defense, but we do throw in a little bit of zone on occasion,” Burke said. “We’re playing our best basketball right now and this is the time of year you want to be doing that. A lot of teams are ready to cash it in this time of year, but our girls are still working hard and having fun. We’re making progress and competing with good teams. Now we just need to learn to finish and beat those teams.”

•The boys basketball team has struggled offensively the past two weeks, as it averaged only 44.3 points during a three-game losing streak.

The Indians lost on the road against Logan Elm 67-44 on Jan. 28 after beating the Braves 63-55 on Dec. 16 at home. They lost 53-47 to visiting Amanda-Clear-creek on Feb. 3 after beating the Aces 69-60 on the road Dec. 20.

“We’re having trouble scoring right now, so we’ve got to be more consistent on the offensive end,” coach Kent Riggs said. “When we shoot the ball well, we’re a good team. We’ve shot the ball well at times this season, so it’s a matter of getting good looks and making our shots.”

The Indians will look to avenge a 55-53 overtime loss at Teays Valley on Jan. 10 when they play host to the Vikings on Saturday, Feb. 11, in an MSL-Buckeye Division contest. Teays Valley was 4-12 overall and 4-6 in the MSL-Buckeye before playing Bloom-Carroll on Feb. 7.

Thomas Nolan scored 16 points and Shemar Waugh scored 14 in the first meeting, but guard Nick Primmer had 19 points for Teays Valley, including the winning shot with two seconds left in overtime.

“Hopefully, we can control the perimeter and the tempo of the game a little bit better this time,” Riggs said.

Nolan was averaging a team-high 13.6 points through 16 games, followed by Waugh (12.4), Austin Whitlatch (8.4) and Alex Fox (5.6).

“Austin has consistently been our best defender and leading rebounder at just over eight rebounds per game,” Riggs said. “(Zach) Morehead can score the ball down in the post when we get it to him and he’s been showing some flashes of coming on the second half of the year.”