By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Visiting Upper Scioto Valley used two big first-half runs to build an intermission cushion, and made it stand up in a 68-52 win over local arch-rival Ada in girls basketball action Tuesday night.
The Lady Bulldogs fell to 4-13 overall with the non-conference defeat, while the Lady Rams improved to 4-11 with the hard-fought win.
USV senior guard Kaycee Carroll poured in a game-high 26 points and classmate Haley Hunsicker contributed 16 markers to lead the hot-shooting Rams. USV knocked down eight three-point goals, all in the first 18 minutes.
Ada senior Maddie Gossard tallied a season-high 22 points and also pulled down eight rebounds.
"We finally had a good start but didn't continue it," said Bulldog head coach Bill Taflinger. "They got hot and Carroll is a nice player. So is Hunsicker. Those two gave us trouble, and when we tried to switch defenses to focus on them, they had a couple other girls step up and hit shots."
Ada jumped out to a 6-0 lead as Gossard scored all of the points, capped by a trifecta. But then previously-cold USV suddenly caught fire. Hunsicker sank a left wing triple to finally get the Rams on the board 3:16 into the fray.
Carroll stole the ball and drove coast to coast for a layin. Freshman Haylie Martin drained a pull-up shot from the foul line to give USV a 7-6 lead, which they never relinquished.
Carroll buried a trey from out top and Holbrook splashed a right wing three-pointer to cap a 13-0 spurt, prompting an Ada timeout with 1:22 to go in the quarter.
Bulldog Ashleigh Rush hit a foul shot to stop the flurry, yet Carroll drilled a pull-up shot. Gossard knocked down a long left wing triple and Ada freshman Miranda Wills converted two foul shots to pull within five.
Martin then swished a right side 15-footer to give the Rams a 19-12 lead after one quarter.
Martin's lean-in banker and a Hunsicker foul shot extended the lead to 22-12 early in period two. Ada then reeled off seven unanswered points to get back in it.
Junior playmaker Raina England canned a free throw, followed by a Gossard trey. Wills banked in a putback and a foul shot to edge Ada within 22-19.
But then the Rams ended the half on a 13-4 splurge to regain control. Hunsicker buried back-to-back triples to ignite the run. Gossard made a driving layup, yet Carroll responded with two foul shots and a triple.
Wills sank a baseline shot but Carroll sliced through the lane to make a floater with three seconds left to give USV a 35-23 margin at the half.
"They shot the ball well after we got it to 22-19," said Taflinger. "That's what happen sometimes. Martin hit some shots that hurt us."
A follow-up shot by Avery Sanders began the second half well for USV. Ada senior Teara Coulson sank a drive yet Ram senior Miranda Holbrook canned a left corner trey.
The teams then traded baskets in an offensive tug of war. Gossard splashed a left side trey but Briona Hurley responded by swishing a trey. Carroll drained a lane floater before Coulson converted an old-fashioned three-point drive to make it 45-32.
Carroll canned another drive and Martin hit again from the field. Hunsicker drove hard coast to coast for a layin and a 51-33 margin. Gossard swished a 15-footer, yet Carroll knocked down two foul shots to give the Rams a 53-36 advantage heading to the final stanza.
Early in the fourth, Sanders knocked down a short turnaround shot before Wills made a putback shot to cut it to 56-39. The determined Carroll sank a baseline runner and two free tosses.
Gossard converted a nice backdoor layup to make it 61-42 with 2:39 remaining. Hunsicker converted a pair at the line, and Ada junior Rilan Conley drained a lane shot.
Coulson buried consecutive right side trifectas to pull the purple and gold to 67-50 with a minute left. A Carroll free toss and two Rush charity stripers closed the scoring in the foul-filled final period.
"We won the fourth quarter (16-15)," Taflinger noted.
Ada connected on 16 of 57 from the field (28 percent) and sank five of 16 treys (31 percent). The Bulldogs converted 15 of 25 foul shots (60 percent).
"That might be the most free throws we have shot all year," Taflinger noted.
Coulson contributed 13 points and Wills added nine markers in reserve. "Miranda gave us a big boost off the bench, and really kept us in it in the first half," Taflinger noted. "Teara played well."
Martin added 10 points as the third Ram in double figures. Ada committed only eight turnovers while USV made just six errors.
The Rams sank 14 two-pointers and eight treys among their 22 field goals, and converted 16 of 28 (57 percent) from the charity stripe.
USV also won the two-quarter JV contest, 16-8. Alexis Waugh led Ada with five points while Graesan Evans topped the Ram reserves with seven markers.
Ada 52 (4-13)
Gossard 8 3-6 22, Coulson 4 3-6 13, Archer 0, England 0 3-4 3, Wills 3 3-5 9, Rush 0 3-4 3, Conley 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 16-57/15-25/52. 3-pointers (5-16): M. Gossard 3, Coulson 2.
USV 68 (4-11)
Carroll 8 8-12 26, Holbrook 2 0-2 6, Hunsicker 4 5-8 16, Sanders 2 2-2 6, Hurley 1 1-2 4, Martin 5 0-2 10.
Totals: 22/16-28/68. 3-pointers: Hunsicker 3, Carroll 2, Holbrook 2, Hurley 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 12 14 10 16 52
USV 19 16 18 15 68
JV: USV 16, Ada 8.
Ada (1-9 home, 0-5 NWC) hosts the fourth contest of its five-game home stretch against improved league foe Spencerville (9-7, 4-1 NWC) Thursday, February 1. The Lady Bearcats are tied with Delphos Jefferson and Columbus Grove atop the NWC standings.
"Spencerville is improved big-time, they are one of the leaders in the league and beat Bluffton (4-2 NWC)," Taflinger said. "So they will be tough and give us some issues. Maybe our zone will give them some trouble. USV got us out of our zone."
