By Cort Reynolds
WAYNESFIELD - Visiting Ada outscored Waynesfield-Goshen 36-22 in the second and fourth quarters to lead the way to a 53-43 victory in non-league girls basketball Tuesday evening.
The Lady Bulldogs trailed 9-8 after the first period, yet they took control with a 19-9 second stanza to grab a nine-point halftime lead.
W-G crept within 36-30 heading to the fourth quarter. But the Bulldogs won the final stanza 17-13 to win by 10.
Ada improved to 7-14 with the win, while W-G ended its season 4-18 with the defeat.
"Just a good overall team effort," said Ada head coach Morgan Bass. "It was their Senior Night so we knew they would be hyped up and ready to go, and we knew we needed to be ready from the start.
"We had a rough start, but I was proud of our efforts and the finish."
Despite being short-handed, three Ada girls hit double figures to pave the way to victory.
Junior post Miranda Wills tallied 17 points to lead the victors. Freshman playmaker Courtney Sumner netted 11 points, and sophomore guard Kirsten Poling contributed 10 markers.
"That (scoring balance) was good," said Bass.
Sumner scored seven big points in the fourth period, while Wills netted five. Kylie Acheson scored three of her six points in the fourth quarter as well.
Wills scored six points and Poling added four in the key 19-9 Ada second period outburst.
Bulldog junior southpaw Alexis Waugh also added seven points.
Tiger point guard Jordan Elliott led all players with 19 points. But no other W-G cager tallied more than six points. Zaria DeLeon and Rylie Barrington each netted six markers.
Ada canned 21 two-point baskets and one triple, and converted eight of 13 foul shots (62 percent).
The Tiger girls made 15 field goals, 11 of the two-point variety and four from beyond the arc. W-G converted nine of 12 free throws (75 percent).
The Lady Bulldogs swept W-G this season, having beaten the Tigers 43-36 at USV in the Border Battle semifinals on Dec. 26. Season-ending injuries took two Bulldogs starters out of the lineup since the first meeting, but Ada found a way to win the rematch on the road Tuesday.
Ada 53 (7-14)
Sumner 4 3-5 11, Poling 5 0-0 10, Jordan 1 0-0 2, Acheson 2 1-1 6, Waugh 3 1-2 7, Wills 7 3-5 17.
Totals: 22/8-13/53. 3-pointers: Acheson 1.
W-G 43 (4-18)
Werling 1 0-0 2, DeLeon 3 0-0 6, Spencer 1 1-2 4, Schultz 1 0-0 3, Elliott 5 8-10 19, Barrington 3 0-0 6, Flinn 1 0-0 3.
Totals: 15/9-12/43. 3-pointers: Elliott 1, Spencer 1, Flinn 1, Schulz 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 8 19 9 17 53
W-G 9 9 12 13 43
No JV game.
Lincolnview girls lance Lady Bulldogs
MIDDLE POINT - Host Lincolnview outscored Ada by a combined 20 points over the middle quarters to post a 45-31 win in the Northwest Conference girls basketball regular season finale Thursday evening.
The Lady Bulldogs led 8-5 after the first period. But the Lancer girls seized a 24-11 halftime lead with a momentum-changing 19-3 second quarter.
Lancer sophomore guard Kendall Bollenbacher scored 10 of her team-high 15 points in the decisive second period.
Lincolnview padded its margin to 37-20 heading to the fourth quarter with a 13-9 third stanza.
The Bulldogs won the final period 11-8 as freshman guard Courtney Sumner scored seven points, but it was not enough to overcome a big deficit.
Ada fell to 7-15 overall and finished 0-8 in the NWC with the defeat. Meanwhile, Lincolnview improved to 4-18 and finished 2-6 in NWC play with the victory, good for seventh place.
"We did some good things," said Ada second-year head coach Morgan Bass. "We won the first quarter, but then they went on about a 24-4 run, which killed us.
"Our (lack of) depth hurt us yet again, but overall I was proud of our efforts," she added.
Sumner tallied a game-high 16 points. Bulldog junior post Miranda Wills added nine markers.
Lancer senior Lana Carey scored nine points, while junior Annie Mendenhall added seven.
Ada canned 11 two-point baskets and a pair of triples, both by Sumner. The Bulldogs girls converted three of 11 foul shots (27 percent).
The Lancer girls made 17 field goals, all from inside the arc. Lincolnview also converted 11 of 17 free throws (65 percent).
Ada was playing its third game in four days with a roster shortened by the loss of two starters to season-ending injuries.
"It was exhausting," admitted Bass of the tough week. The Bulldogs went 1-2 in those games, beating Waynesfield on the road.
The Lancer girls ended their season with wins this week over Ridgemont (63-25) and Ada.
Ada 31 (7-15, 0-8 NWC)
Sumner 7 0-1 16, Poling 1 0-2 2, Jordan 1 0-0 2, Acheson 0 0-2 0, Waugh 0 2-2 2, Wills 4 1-4 9.
Totals: 13/3-11/31. 3-pointers: Sumner 2.
L'view 45 (4-18, 2-6 NWC)
Ebel 2 2-2 6, Carey 4 1-1 9, Jackman 1 0-0 2, Fellers 0 2-2 2, Bollenbacher 7 1-2 15, Decker 1 2-6 4, Mendenhall 2 3-4 7.
Totals: 17/11-17/45. 3-pointers: none.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 8 3 9 11 31
Lvw 5 19 13 8 45
No JV game.
Tournament
The Lady Bulldogs, seeded 10th, begin tournament play with a Div. IV sectional semifinal battle at Bath vs. fourth seed New Knoxville (14-7) Wednesday, February 19. The first round game starts at 6:15 p.m.
"I just told the girls to look forward to Wednesday and tournament time," said Bass.
The Ada/NK winner advances to the sectional finals Feb. 22 at Bath vs. New Bremen (13-8) or Hardin Northern (6-16).
The Bulldogs are 2-0 in neutral site games this season. They finished 2-8 at home and 3-7 in road games.
Lincolnview, the 11th seed in the Paulding/Bryan sectional, plays 13th seed West Unity Hilltop Tuesday, February 18 at 7 p.m. The winner advances to face second seed Ottoville Feb. 22 in Paulding at 6:15 p.m.
The winner of that game goes on to the district semifinals Feb. 27 at Defiance.
