Lady Trojans fall to Danville’s huge second half
In a tale of two halves, the Centerburg Lady Trojans gave all the fight the Danville Lady Blue Devils could handle at home, Jan. 26, but Danville’s huge second half was enough to win the game.
The first half was won by Centerburg, 28-24, but the Blue Devils ran away with the second half 36-14 to take a 60-42 victory at home for their seventh win in a row. The Blue Devils ran their record to 12-4, 8-2 KMAC, while Centerburg’s rough season continued, sending it to 1-15, 0-11 (KMAC). The win keeps Danville in the KMAC hunt, two games behind conference-leading Cardington-Lincoln with two KMAC games to play
The visiting Lady Trojans came out firing to match Danville’s 15-point opening frame with 15 points of their own. Kayla Larimore paced four C-Burg scorers with five points, and Alenah Boeshart led five Danville scorers in the first with five points.
Centerburg outscored the hosts 13-9 in the second to take a 28-24 lead at the half. Chloe Goulter netted six, and Clara Johnson scored five to lead the Centerburg charge. Kylee Hess scored all of Danville’s points in the second, hitting three shots from beyond the arc for nine points.
Danville must have had a spirited halftime meeting with coach Matt Proper, because it came out as an inspired team to own the second half. An aggressive defense held Centerburg to five points as the Devils countered with a 15-point quarter to take a 39-33 lead going into the fourth. Danville’s Boeshart hit for eight in the frame and Johnson’s second 3-pointer of the night was the bright spot for Centerburg.
The Blue Devils’ avalanche in the fourth resulted in a 21-9 romp to take away an 18-point victory. Danville’s Kylee Hess netted nine points, Boeshart scored eight and Brooklynn Hess hit for six in the final quarter. Goulter kept firing and hit three field goals for six points for Centerburg.
Danville’s aggressive and swarming defense resulted in 12 steals, with Ella Proper, Brooklynn Hess and Camie Newbold each grabbing two steals. The Blue Devils also blocked three shots and forced 17 Trojan turnovers, while the Danville offense only turned the ball over seven times.
Danville was led on the stat sheet by Kylee Hess and Boeshart, who scored 20 points each, Brooklynn Hess with eight points and Proper with seven. Newbold pulled seven rebounds off the glass, and Brooklynn Hess dished out nine assists. Centerburg’s top scorers were Goulter with 16, Larimore with 10 and Johnson with eight.
Redbirds’ tandem gets 54 to down Bulldogs, 67-54
Visiting Loudonville got 33 points by Corri Vermilya and 21 points by Shalen Guilliams to overwhelm East Knox, 67-54, at Howard on Jan. 26.
East Knox, now 8-9, 2-6 KMAC, pulled 20 points from Alexandria Magers and 12 from Laura Keith, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with Loudonville, who improved to 13-3 and 7-0 in Mid-Buckeye play.
Loudonville jumped out to an 18-10 first-quarter lead as Guilliams hit two threes. EK’s Keith countered with a three and a deuce. In the second, the Lady Bulldogs closed the gap to 32-28 as Magers clicked for nine points.
The third quarter was a 23-10 onslaught for the Redbirds as Vermilya scored a dozen and Guilliams chipped in with six. Magers answered with three buckets.
Entering the fourth ahead 54-38, Loudonville closed out the game, though the Lady Bulldogs outscored the winners 16-13. Vermilya’s nine and Guilliams’ four sealed it for Loudonville, and five scorers balanced the EK sheet in the quarter.
