By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Visiting Kenton outscored Hardin County rival Ada 48-22 over the middle quarters to pave the way to a 70-41 non-conference girls basketball win Saturday afternoon.
Kenton ended the first half on a 21-6 flurry to help turn a one-point deficit into a 17-point halftime cushion. A 10-0 Lady Wildcat run in the third period then put the game out of reach.
The Bulldog girls fell to 4-7 overall with the defeat. It was their first game in a week after winning the Border Battle tournament. Meanwhile, Kenton improved to 4-4 with the victory.
"It was a good first quarter, then boom it got away from us in the second," said Ada second-year head coach Morgan Bass. "We could not run with them for four quarters."
Ada trailed just 17-15 after a Courtney Sumner free throw with 6:10 left in the first half. But Kenton then reeled off six quick points, capped by a Mary Heilman putback, to stretch the lead to eight and they never looked back.
Two Miranda Wills foul shots stemmed the tide briefly, but Makenzie Bays hit a free throw, stole the ball and made a layup for the Wildcats. Jenna Manns buried a right wing triple to extend the margin to 28-17 at the 3:01 mark.
Ada junior post Megan Light sank a layup yet Wildcat guard Sidney Plott splashed a trifecta. Manns canned a three-point play inside on a follow shot, and the speedy Bays hit a foul shot.
Sophomore Selena Jordan banked in a short shot for Ada, but Manns drained another triple to extend the lead to 38-21 at intermission. Kenton outscored the Bulldogs 28-10 in the momentum-changing second period.
"Kenton has shooters and they live and die by the three," Bass noted. "And if they miss three's, they get long offensive rebounds. But I was not upset with our effort."
Sumner drained a triple 90 seconds into the second half to cut the deficit to 14. Yet Wildcat post Lindsey Smith powered inside for a basket seconds later. Manns splashed a trey at the 5:15 mark, and Smith followed with a layin shortly thereafter.
Smith then canned a three-pointer at the 4:33 mark to double the lead at 48-24. Wills stopped the 10-0 Kenton spurt with a basket midway through the period. The feisty Wills then swished a right baseline 11-footer.
But Wildcat junior guard Keelee Barrett knocked down a three, and Bays sank a transition layup to rebuild the Kenton lead to 53-28. Wills completed a traditional three-point play with a good inside move at the 2:40 juncture.
However, Barrett answered with another trifecta. Sumner stole a pass and cruised in for a layup, yet Laney Harpel scored for the visitors to put the Wildcats ahead by 25 after three periods.
Sophomore guard Kirsten Poling opened the fourth quarter with a Bulldog basket. Smith posted up and scored inside. Sumner swished a 15-footer, yet Plott responded with a basket. Another Barrett bucket helped extend the margin to 65-37.
Heilman scored inside off a post-up lob at the four-minute mark. Wills split two free tosses, and Sumner banked in a tough right side runner. The sharpshooting Manns answered by splashing a trey from the top of the key to lead by 30.
Wills canned one foul shot in the final minute to finish the scoring.
"I knew that physically we couldn't match up with them for four quarters," said Bass. "Their guards are simply quicker." The Bulldogs were also playing without speedy sophomore guard Timber Blankenship, who was sidelined by a knee injury.
Ada led 11-10 after a close first quarter. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two Wills foul shots and a coast-to-coast driving shot from Sumner. Smith canned two layups in a row for Kenton.
Sumner drained a left baseline mid-range shot, and Light scored inside. A stickback layin by junior Alexis Waugh off a weakside rebound gave Ada an 11-7 advantage.
Bays then sank a trey from the top of the key to pull the visitors within a point after the opening stanza. After that, Kenton outscored their county rivals 60-30 over the final three periods.
Wildcat junior guard Manns led all scorers with 20 points on the strength of five triples. Junior post Smith collected 17 points, and Bays added a dozen markers.
Sumner and Wills led Ada with 14 points apiece. "Miranda has played like a post player since the Border Battle. She has shot a lot of free throws and has improved her post moves," said Bass.
"I thought we did a decent job inside on Smith," she added.
The Ada girls sank 15 baskets, including 14 two-pointers and one from three-point range. The Lady Bulldogs canned 10 of 16 from the charity stripe (63 percent).
The hot-shooting Wildcat girls sank 26 field goals, 12 of which were three-point baskets. Kenton converted just six of 16 at the foul line (38 percent).
Kenton 70 (4-4)
Plott 2 0-1 6, Holland 0, Bays 4 2-8 12, Heilman 2 0-1 4, Hildreth 0 1-2 1, Harpel 1 0-0 2, Barrett 3 0-1 8, Smith 8 0-0 17, Manns 6 3-3 20.
Totals: 26/6-16/70. 3-pointers: Manns 5, Bays 2, Plott 2, Barrett 2, Smith 1.
Ada 41 (4-7)
Sumner 6 1-3 14, Poling 2 1-3 5, Light 2 0-0 4, Acheson 0, Waugh 1 0-0 2, Wills 3 8-10 14, Jordan 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 15/10-16/41. 3-pointers: Sumner 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Kent 10 28 20 12 70
Ada 11 10 12 8 41
JV: Kenton 13, Ada 2.
Ada hosts Perry in a non-league rematch Tuesday, January 7. The Lady Commodores edged the visiting Bulldog girls 49-43 a month ago on December 7.
"Perry is a huge game, we need to win that one," said Bass. "We didn't play well over there; it was a frustrating game.
"Winning the Border Battle tournament was great for our confidence," she added.
