Mount Gilead High School

No. 20 Mount Gilead shot well and gave No. 2 North Union a run for their money, but the Wildcats did a good job capitalizing off turnovers, and the Indians took a 65-61 loss in the Division III Central 2 Sectional Finals on Feb. 27.

Local boys’ wrestling teams recently competed in their sectional championships last weekend, and below are some highlights of winners and top wrestlers in their respective meets.

Junior Faith White has been integral in the success of the Mount Gilead girls’ basketball team this season, as she has played out of position most of the season after the team lost its starting point guard to injury. Most recently, she has led the Indians to a pair of upset wins in the playoffs and helped Mount Gilead secure their second straight Sectional title.

No. 6 Mount Gilead (13-11, 6-6) is playing some of its best basketball of the season at just the right time, as the Indians were able to knock off No. 4 Wellington School (19-5, 10-3) to to win the Sectional title in the Division IV Central 1 tournament.

It was a tight battle in the first round of the Division IV Central 1 Sectional playoffs between No. 6 Mount Gilead (12-11, 6-6) and No. 3 Madison Christian (18-4, 12-0), but the Indians were able to improve off a shaky first half and comeback to take a 49-45 upset win on Feb. 21.

Mount Gilead (11-11, 6-6) had an up-and-down season defending their KMAC title, and while they suffered some tight losses and setbacks due to injuries, they finished out the regular season strong with a 47-42 home win against Tree of Life Christian (13-8, 9-2).

The three ball was flying for the Lady Scots (7-12, 5-8) against reigning KMAC champion Mount Gilead (10-11, 6-6) on Feb. 6, and while the Indians made a push at some late game heroics, Highland took a 48-45 victory to stop their three game skid.

The final month of regular season action is here for the local girls' basketball teams, and here are a few games highlighted from last week as the teams focus on finishing strong and setting themselves up for the postseason.

The Fredericktown Boys’ basketball team (11-6, 8-2) has been playing their best basketball with six wins in a row since starting the season .500

The Mount Gilead girls' basketball team (10-9, 6-6) team came away with a key conference victory over Cardington-Lincoln (11-8, 8-4) on Jan. 30, with Faith White and Danielle Pohlkotte leading the charge in a 49-45 win.

The Mount Gilead boys’ basketball team (4-10, 2-7) snapped a nine game winning streak with a 48-45 overtime win over Centerburg (7-7, 5-4) on Jan. 27, with Gage Baker coming to the rescue with a 19 point showing.

The Danville boys’ basketball team got a strong one-two punch out of Wesley Payne and Walker Weckesser, as they combined for 38 points in a 58-47 win over Mount Gilead on Jan. 20.

Cardington-Lincoln (9-3, 5-1) bounced back from a tough loss with a solid 81-59 win over Mount Gilead (3-7, 1-4), putting the boys’ basketball team in a tie for first in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference with Northmor.

The Freddie Invite was held on Jan. 13 with 22 teams competing, and New Philadelphia came away with the top spot with a score of 285.

Blake Sipes put up a double-double to lead the Fredericktown boys’ basketball team (5-4, 3-1) to a 58-57 overtime victory over Mount Gilead on Jan. 10, picking up a key KMAC win.

In what was a see-saw battle between two tough KMAC rivals, Cardington-Lincoln (7-5, 4-1) put together a come-from-behind 40-39 win over Mount Gilead (6-5, 4-2), led by Jill Bertke with 15 points.

The Mount Gilead girls’ basketball team improved to 6-4 with a convincing 47-26 win over KMAC rival East Knox, keeping them tied with Danville for first in the conference at 4-1.

Isaiah Sule was on fire for Centerburg (3-3, 2-1) last week, putting up 28 points to lead the Trojans to a 59-37 win over KMAC rival Mount Gilead (3-4, 1-2).

With the new year right around the corner, it is already getting to be the second half to the winter athletic season. There are a number of big matchups down the stretch that could mean big things for conference rankings and playoff placement for local girls' basketball teams.

The Mount Gilead boys’ basketball team (3-2, 1-0) bounced back from a tough loss to Highland (1-4, 1-3) to get back above .500 and win their first conference matchup of the season against the Danville Blue Devils (1-5, 0-1).