By Cort Reynolds
COLUMBUS GROVE - Ada finished seventh at the Northwest Conference championship wrestling tournament hosted by Columbus Grove High School on Saturday, February 15.
Defending champion Allen East won its ninth all-time NWC crown with 341 points to easily out-distance second-place Spencerville (223). Bluffton was right behind the Bearcats in third (218.5).
Ada ended up seventh with 106 points to finish 33 points ahead of last-place Lincolnview.
By Cort Reynolds - photos by Stephanie Frazier
ADA - Host Ada racked up 45 first half points and went on to post an impressive 74-54 win over Lincolnview in Northwest Conference boys basketball action Friday night.
The Bulldogs shot 55 percent from the field and 43 percent beyond the arc to post the surprisingly lopsided win. Senior wing Phillip Coulson fired in a career-high 30 points to pace the Valentine's Day victory.
"It was our best game of the season," agreed Bulldog fourth-year head coach Dre White. "We shot well, but we also did a ton of other things right. It was good to see things all come together in one game.
The Northwest Conference wrestling tournament will be at Columbus Grove High School on Saturday, Feb.15, with both high school and junior high teams wrestling.
NWC teams include Ada, Allen East, Bluffton, Columbus Grove, Delphos Jefferson, Lincolnview, Paulding and Spencerville. Crestview will also compete in the junior high tournament.
Allen East won the championship in 2019 with its 8th championship, followed by Bluffton and Columbus Grove.
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.
The Ohio Northern women's basketball team inched closer to securing a first-round home game at the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Wednesday night inside the ONU Sports Center. The Polar Bears downed Otterbein 69-59 to snap their modest two-game losing streak.
The victory improved Northern to 16-6 overall and 10-5 in OAC play. The loss dropped the Otterbein to 11-11 overall and 6-9 in conference action.
With three regular-season games remaining, ONU needs one win or a loss by either Marietta or Capital to secure a top-four seed.
Ada teacher and long-time volleyball coach, Melissa Gossard, will be inducted with the 2020 class of the Hardin County Sports Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony is at Upper Scioto Valley High School on Saturday, May 9.
She is a 1991 Hardin Northern HS graduate who was an all-Ohioan in volleyball and basketball. She finished her basketball career with 1,127 points scored.
Upon having a four-year career at Ashland University, she returned to Hardin County where she coached for 21 seasons. She is the winningest coach in Ada High School history.
Watch the Icon for more information about the event and a feature on Gossard.
