By Cort Reynolds|
ADA - The Ada girls basketball team tipped off its season at home vs. local non-league foe Cory-Rawson Tuesday night with a 59-44 loss that was more competitive than the final score might indicate.
The Lady Bulldogs fell to 0-1 with the defeat, while C-R improved to 2-1 with the win. Having two games under its belt already at the Bluffton Holiday Invitational last weekend also helped the Hornets to be more game-ready than Ada, which was playing its first game.
"We kind of ran out of gas in the second half," said second-year Bulldog head coach Morgan Bass. "We started getting tired and making some mistakes.
"I thought we did a pretty good job rebounding in the first half, but they out-rebounded us in the second half," she added. "Miranda Wills's foul trouble really hurt us."
Ada held its biggest lead at 26-17 in the second quarter after the Bulldogs authored an 11-0 run. But Cory responded with an 8-2 splurge to edge within three points and gain some momentum heading to intermission.
The Lady Hornets began the second half on a 14-5 spurt to take a six-point lead they never relinquished. A big three-pointer near the end of the third period gave C-R a 10-point lead, and Ada never got closer than nine points in the final stanza.
C-R led 8-2 early after two baskets by Libby McVetta and a left wing trey by Zoe Chisholm. But a layup and a traditional three-point play inside by junior post Wills tied it 8-8 at the 3:17 mark.
Cory scored the next four points before freshman point guard Courtney Sumner netted her first varsity basket on a nice crossover dribble and baseline runner with 2:15 to go.
Chisholm drained another left wing trifecta to give the visitors a 15-10 lead after one period of play.
Ada came out strong in the second stanza. Junior Alexis Waugh canned an 11-foot left baseline shot to start what would be an 18-10 period. A short putback by junior post Megan Light, and a Wills free throw tied it 15-all.
McVetta made a driving layup, but Waugh knotted it on two foul shots. Ada took its first lead on a steal and layup by sophomore guard Kirsten Poling at the 4:54 mark.
The speedy Sumner continued the run with a foul shot and a coast-to-coast drive that bounced in. Another fast break layup by Sumner gave Ada its biggest lead at 26-17.
Hornet senior Samantha Roth ended the flurry by hitting a 12-footer. Roth then netted a running bank shot to pull within 26-21 with 1:15 to go in the half.
Light sank another stickback layin to rebuild the lead to seven. Chisholm sank a follow shot, then stole the ball and fed senior post Ayanna Vekaryasz for a layup that cut it to 28-25 seven seconds before intermission.
"I thought we came out aggressive in the second quarter; we broke their press and attacked, made some layups," Bass recalled. "We got a little careless with the ball at the end of the half, and they made a run to get back in it."
Junior ace guard Chisholm came out strong to start the second half and canned a right corner triple. She then sank a layup to put Cory on top 30-29 a minute into the third period.
Two Wills foul shots put Ada back in front, but Roth drained a trifecta with 6:23 to go for a two-point lead. Wills tied it again two minutes later for the last time on two charity stripers.
Paige McVetta sank a runner to give Cory the lead for good at the 4:16 mark. Two foul shots by Faith Bowersox and a driving layup by Chisholm made it 39-33 with 3:06 left.
A Sumner 11-foot baseline shot stopped the spurt 33 seconds later. Yet Roth splashed a rainbow triple from out top. Paige McVetta then stole the ball and converted a layup to stretch the lead to 42-35.
Waugh drove hard to her left in the lane and sank a running bank shot 44 seconds before the end of the period. Yet Paige McVetta drilled a backbreaking right corner trey with six ticks left in the quarter to build the lead to 10.
"That three at the end of the third quarter hurt," admitted Bass. C-R outscored Ada 22-9 in the momentum-changing third quarter.
Over a 10-minute span starting late in the second period, Cory rallied from nine points down to 10 ahead with a 30-11 run. The 19-point swing proved decisive.
Wills picked up her fifth foul on a driving shot that banked in. The call could have gone either way, but instead of a potential three-point play she fouled out - and the basket was waved off.
"That killed us," said Bass.
Roth drained another right corner trifecta a minute into the fourth quarter to build the lead to 13.
Poling canned a follow shot layin with 6:37 remaining to play, and Waugh added a layup 46 seconds later to inch within 50-41.
Chisholm tallied a putback layin yet Light followed up her own miss with a layup to make it 52-43 with 5:13 left. Southpaw Chisholm sank a pretty right-handed runner off glass to build the lead to 11 with five minutes left.
"Roth and Chisholm hit some big shots when we didn't take care of the ball," noted Bass.
Paige McVetta sank an off-balance runner and Brynn Reese netted a layup from Chisholm for a 58-43 cushion with 3:45 remaining. Sumner split two foul shots for the last Ada point, and Chisholm added a free throw for the last point to provide the final margin.
Cory outscored Ada 34-16 after intermission.
Chisholm led all players with 21 points and several steals. Roth contributed 17 key points, and the McVetta girls added a combined total of 15.
Wills topped Ada with a dozen points. Sumner added 10 markers in her debut. Waugh and Poling each tallied eight points while Light added six points with two blocked shots.
"I thought Courtney did well for her first game," said Bass. "Light and Waugh both played pretty good, too."
Ada connected on 16 baskets from the field, all two-point goals. The Lady Bulldogs converted 12 of 25 from the foul line (48 percent) and missed the lone three-pointer they tried.
C-R sank 22 baskets, including seven triples as Chisholm and Roth each netted three treys. The Hornets converted just eight of 19 free throws (42 percent).
The Hornets also won the two-period reserve game, 20-5.
C-R 59 (2-1)
Chisholm 8 2-5 21, Cascaden 0, Roth 5 4-8 17, Vekaryasz 1 0-0 2, P. McVetta 4 0-1 9, L. McVetta 3 0-1 6, Bowersox 0 2-2 2, Reese 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 22/8-19/59. 3-pointers: Chisholm 3, Roth 3, P. McVetta 1.
Ada 44 (0-1)
Sumner 4 2-5 10, Blankenship 0 0-1 0, Poling 3 2-7 8, Wills 3 6-9 12, Light 3 0-1 6, Waugh 3 2-2 8, Acheson 0, Jordan 0.
Totals: 16/12-25/44. 3-pointers: none.
1 2 3 4 F
C-R 15 10 22 12 59
Ada 10 18 9 7 44
JV: C-R 20, Ada 5.
Ada plays next at county rival Hardin Northern Tuesday, December 3 at 6 p.m.
