By Cort Reynolds
DOLA - The Ada girls basketball team finished on a 7-2 run to upend county foe Hardin Northern 36-31 Tuesday night in a tight non-league basketball rivalry battle.
The Lady Bulldogs improved to 1-1 with the hard-fought road win. HN fell to 0-4 with the difficult defeat after leading most of the game.
"We started out flat and couldn't finish throughout the game until the end," said Ada second-year head coach Morgan Bass. "(But) when it really counted, we picked it up and finished when it mattered most."
The Bulldogs took their first lead 26-25 on a Megan Light basket with 4:54 remaining to play. Ada sophomore guard Kirsten Poling then drained an 18-footer to build the lead to three 32 seconds later.
Polar Bear Quinn Stewart-Evans followed in her own miss at the 4:11 mark to cut it to 28-27. Bulldog freshman Courtney Sumner split two foul shots, yet Stewart-Evans sank a layup off an assist from Maddie Grappy to tie it 29-29 with 2:20 left to play.
Poling then drilled a tie-breaking three-pointer from the right side with 1:40 to go, giving Ada a lead they would not relinquish.
"Her shot was huge," Bass agreed. "That kind of was the shot that got us over the hump."
Sumner stole the ball and Poling converted a foul shot to provide a four-point cushion at the 1:08 mark. Lady Bear Eris McCoy canned a layup off a good cut to slice the lead to 33-31 with 44 ticks left.
Sumner split a pair at the charity stripe with 33 seconds left to put Ada on top, 34-31. Bulldog junior Miranda Wills rebounded the ensuing HN miss, was fouled and converted both key free throws at the 24-second juncture.
Northern then missed a three-pointer, corraled the rebound yet missed again. Ada grabbed the final carom and time ran out.
"I am just proud of the players for pulling through and finishing," said Bass. "But we need to be ready to play from the opening tip."
HN jumped ahead 6-0 before Sumner got Ada on the board with a driving banker 3:38 into the fray. Junior teammate Alexis Waugh then canned two free throws, but Grappy scored off an in-bounds layin to lead 8-4.
A 17-footer and bank shot by senior Stewart-Evans gave HN a 12-6 advantage. Yet Sumner drained a right wing trifecta to cut the deficit to 12-9 after one period.
Light's putback early in the second stanza, followed by a Sumner runner, inched Ada within 14-13. Wills then tied it on a foul shot with 5:01 left in the half.
Bear Eris McCoy split two foul shots, and Stewart-Evans canned a bucket to put the hosts back in front 17-14 at the 2:02 mark.
A baseline shot by Stewart-Evans put Northern ahead 19-14 at intermission as Ada went scoreless over the last five minutes of the half.
Two Grappy field goals sandwiched around a Wills layup gave HN its biggest lead, 23-16. Bulldog defensive hustler Timber Blankenship hit a free toss, and Poling splashed an 18-footer to get the Bulldogs within 23-20.
Sumner canned a driving floater to slice the lead to 23-22 with under two minutes to go in the stanza. Grappy sank an elbow shot to give the Bears a 25-22 edge heading to the final quarter.
Sumner converted a driving scoop shot and was fouled but missed the free throw to stay a point behind, 25-24, with 5:03 remaining to play.
Ada rebounded the missed foul shot and junior post Light ended up sinking the go-ahead basket at the 4:54 mark. The Bulldogs never trailed again, and they outscored HN 14-6 in the decisive fourth quarter to pull off the win.
Sumner led Ada with 13 points. Poling scored all eight of her points in the final 12 minutes. Wills also added eight markers.
Lady Bear Stewart-Evans led all players with 14 points, 10 in the first half. Grappy was held to eight in part by the tight defense of Blankenship.
The Bulldogs sank a dozen field goals, including two from beyond the arc. Ada converted 10 of 22 from the charity stripe (45 percent).
The Lady Bears made 15 field goals but no triples, and were outscored 10-1 at the foul line. HN took just three shots at the charity stripe, sinking one (33 percent).
Ada outscored HN 22-12 in the second half.
Ada 36 (1-1)
Sumner 5 2-5 13, Poling 3 1-5 8, Light 2 0-0 4, Blankenship 0 1-2 1, Wills 2 4-8 8, Waugh 0 2-2 2.
Totals: 12/10-22/36. 3-pointers: Sumner 1, Poling 1.
HN 31 (0-4)
Cook 0, Martin 1 0-0 2, Stewart-Evans 7 0-1 14, Wilson 0, McCoy 2 1-2 5, Obenour 1 0-0 2, Grappy 4 0-0 8.
Totals: 15/1-3/31. 3-pointers: none.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 9 5 8 14 36
HN 12 7 6 6 31
JV: HN 18, Ada 10.
Ada (1-0 road) opens Northwest Conference play Thursday evening at Columbus Grove (1-1). "Grove will be tough," said Bass. "We are going to need to be able to guard the perimeter and hope they aren't feeling it."
CG lost at Bath 47-25 and beat Shawnee 67-49.
