By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The Ada girls basketball team scored the last six points of the game to break a tie and post a hard-earned 52-46 non-conference win over visiting Van Buren Tuesday evening.
The purple and gold improved to 2-3 as they snapped a three-game losing skid, while the Lady Black Knights dropped to 2-4 with the defeat.
Ada senior Haley Wyss broke a 46-46 deadlock with a free throw, then scored a layup off her own miss after a crucial Teara Coulson offensive rebound to provide a three-point bulge with 1:38 remaining.
"Teara and Alyssa (Vore) had some big offenseive rebounds on missed free throws near the end," agreed Bulldog head coach Bill Taflinger.
After a Vore free toss and several Knight misfires, Wyss later added two foul shots to provide the final margin with 8.7 ticks to go. Wyss finished with a game-high 22 points, 12 of which came in the final quarter.
Maddie Gossard bombed in four of the six Bulldog three-pointers in the first period as Ada raced to a 25-16 lead after the opening stanza behind her 14 points.
Long deuces by Rilan Conley and Coulson helped Ada build a 29-16 margin before VB began methodically chipping away. The Bulldogs went cold from the floor, scoring just 14 combined points in the middle periods.
"Van Buren changed their defense (to 2-3 zone) starting the second quarter and did a nice job covering us after the good start," said third-year head coach Taflinger. "Luckily we made them pay in the first period to build a cushion, which was really the difference in the game."
VB inched within 30-21 but Wyss spun into the lane and made a left-handed layin. The Knights then tallied the final four points of the half to creep within 32-25 at intermission.
Knight freshman guard Mady Parker netted three quick baskets early in half two to offset a steal and bucket by Coulson. A short banker by Zoe Horne and a foul shot from Parker tied it 34-34 with 3:03 left in the third stanza.
VB then took its first lead at 37-34 since the opening minutes on a Horne trifecta from the right corner. Vore canned two foul shots and Anney Archer splashed a right corner triple to put Ada back in front, 39-37.
Lydia Reineke tied it 39-all heading to the final stanza on a short bank shot.
Wyss gava Ada a brief lead on a foul shot to open the fourth. Reineke buried a left wing trey, yet Wyss responded by nailing a long triple from the left side for a 43-42 Bulldog edge with 6:11 left.
Wyss split a pair at the charity stripe but Reineke tied it again 44-44 when her short shot rolled in at the 3:16 mark. Wyss drove the left baseline and sank a short leaner off glass with three minutes to go.
Parker tied it for the last time on two free throws with 2:17 remaining. Wyss canned the first of two foul shots with 1:47 left, and Coulson ran down her miss on the second shot miss. Given a reprieve, Wyss then sank a key layup seconds later for a three-point lead.
Vore split a pair at the line with 1:11 to go, running down her own miss in the corner. Meanwhile, VB was in the midst of missing multiple triple tries.
After Ada ran off some precious time, Wyss then put the game out of reach on two foul shots in the waning seconds. The Bulldog defense held VB without a basket over the final 3:17.
"We did a good job of using up some clock late," noted Taflinger. "Haley knocking down the free throws at the end was nice."
Gossard tallied all 14 of her points in the first five minutes of play on four treys and two free tosses. Parker paced VB with 20 points but tallied just two in the fourth quarter. Reineke added 11 markers.
Vore and Wyss each pulled down nine rebounds to pace the victors.
Ada sank 15 field goals, including eight triples. They connected on 14 of 24 (58 percent) at the charity stripe, as Wyss hit on half of her 14 attempts. VB drained 17 baskets, but hit just two treys. The Knights converted 10 of 15 at the foul line (67 percent).
VB won a two-quarter reserve contest 20-9 to drop the Ada JV to 1-4.
Ada 52 (2-3)
M. Gossard 4 2-2 14, Coulson 2 0-0 4, Wyss 6 7-14 22, Vore 0 4-6 4, Archer 1 1-2 4, Newland 0, England 0, Conley 2 0-0 4.
Totals: 15/14-24/52. 3-pointers: M. Gossard 4, Wyss 3, Archer 1
VB 46 (2-4)
Rampe 0 2-2 2, Horne 2 0-0 5, Dewalt 0 1-2 1, Rosenberger 1 0-0 2, Parker 7 6-9 20, Reineke 5 0-0 11, Nessler 0 1-2 1, Leeper 2 0-0 4. Totals: 17/10-15/46. 3-pointers: Horne 1, Reineke 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 25 7 7 13 52
VB 16 9 14 7 46
JV: VB 20, Ada 9.
Ada (1-2 road) visits Maumee Valley Country Day Tuesday, December 27. No makeup date has been set yet for last Saturday's postponed game at home vs. Arcadia.
