By Cort Reynolds

The Ada High School girls basketball team rode a big second quarter to convincingly defeat backyard rival Upper Scioto Valley 55-30 in the third-place game of the fifth annual girls basketball Border Battle early Friday afternoon, December 30, at Waynesfield.

Ada improved to 5-6 with the win, while USV fell to 3-8 with the defeat.

The Bulldogs outscored USV 37-15 over the middle two quarters to pave the way to the win.

"We started out slow in the first quarter and then got things going in the second," said Ada head coach Zach Risner. "We moved the ball well as a team, and we were able to knock down shots to stretch the lead going into the half.

"Overall, it was a great team win," he added.

Ada narrowly led 11-9 after the first period as senior guard Courtney Sumner scored eight points.

The Bulldogs blew the game open with a 19-6 second quarter that gave Ada a 30-15 halftime advantage. Sumner canned two triples and junior Olivia Burkhart drained one trey in the decisive second stanza.

"The second quarter was definitely the key," said Ricker.

Ada extended the margin to 48-24 after three periods to put the game out of reach. Sumner netted seven points with one trifecta in the third stanza. Sophomore guard Lexi Poling nailed a trey and a two-pointer in the 18-9 third quarter run.

Burkhart also hit a three-pointer in the third stanza. Ada won the final quarter, 7-6.

Sumner tallied 14 of her game-high 22 points in the first half. She nailed four of the seven Ada triples. Burkhart scored nine points, and junior Autumn Andreasen tallied eight markers.

Poling added seven points, while junior southpaw Mariah King scored six.

Brielle Cotterman led the Rams with 11 points. Nevaeh Lowery contributed seven markers, and freshman Sophia Hurley added four points.

Ada canned seven triples among their 19 baskets. The Bulldog girls hit on 10 of 17 free throws (59 percent). 

USV made 10 two-point field goals and like Ada, also made 10 of 17 foul shots (59 percent). 

By scoring 32 points in the two game-set, Bulldog Sumner made the all-tournament team. 

USV 30 (3-8)

Hall 0 3-4 3, A. Hurley 0 0-0 0, Lawrence 1 0-1 2, Christensen 1 1-1 3, Cotterman 5 1-4 11, Gonzalez 0, Lowery 1 5-7 7, S. Hurley 2 0-0 4. 

Totals: 10-0/10-17/30. 3-pointers: none.

Ada 55 (5-6)

King 3 0-0 6, Sumner 6 6-11 22, Burkhart 3 1-2 9, Poling 3 0-0 7, Hevlin 0 0-0 0, Andreasen 4 0-0 8, Sizemore 0 3-4 3, Conley 0 0-0 0, Rockhill 0.

Totals: 12-7/10-17/55. 3-pointers: Sumner 4, Burkhart 2, Poling 1.

1 2 3 4 F

Ada 11 19 18 7 55

USV 9 6 9 6 30

Ada plays next at non-league foe LCC on Tuesday, January 3. 

"The big thing is carrying our momentum from the USV win into Tuesday against LCC, as we have an opportunity to get ourselves back to .500," said Ricker.

The Bulldogs (0-3 NWC) resume Northwest Conference play Thursday, Jan. 5 at home vs. Border Battle champion Allen East (9-2, 1-1 NWC).

AE just beat Ada 63-25 in the BB semifinals en route to the title over Waynesfield.