Northmor 51, Crestline 24
The Northmor girls basketball team powered to a 21-point halftime lead and coasted to a 51-24 victory over Crestline (2-3) on Dec. 8 to improve to 2-1 on the season.
The Golden Knights dominated from the start, going up 12-5 after one and then 30-9 at halftime. After a low-scoring third quarter, Northmor was up 38-14 and then finished the game strong, outscoring Crestline 13-10.
Lauren Johnson scored 15 points, dished out two assists and pulled in four rebounds to lead the way for the Golden Knights. Emily Zeger scored six points and had nine boards. Maizy Brinkman had five points, five rebounds and an assist.
Fredericktown 43, Elgin 33
Fredericktown's Cally Carpenter and Ella Bouton teamed in all facets of play to lead the Lady Freddies (2-3, 0-2) over Elgin (2-4) by a 43-33 count in a nonconference matchup on Dec. 10.
Elgin started hot, outscoring the Freddies 13-9 in the first quarter, but Fredericktown woke up in the second quarter, scoring 17 points and holding the Comets to only 6. Fredericktown had a 26-16 lead at the half. In the third quarter, the Freddies outscored Elgin 6-3 and both teams scored 11 points in the fourth.
Carpenter finished with 14 points, nine boards, eight assists and two steals and was joined by Bouton, who added 13 points, six rebounds, four steals, two blocks and an assist to lead Fredericktown to the win. Jill Bouton scored nine points and gathered 11 boards, while also recording two steals and three blocks. Mya Bryant had five points,11 rebounds, one steal and one block.
Fredericktown basketball coach Tim Maceyko was happy with how his team came out and got a win in the face of adversity due to injuries and illness.
“It’s tough when you’re starting three freshmen,” Maceyko said. “It’s not always going to be pretty, but I couldn’t be more proud of the effort we got today. Ella Bouton and Cally Carpenter made some big plays for us in this one. Cally hit some shots when we needed them. She just has a knack for getting to the rim. And Ella just gets up and down the court really well for someone who’s almost 6 feet tall. She gets going with the ball and she’s tough to stop in transition.”
Defensively, Jill Bouton has been on fire with 16 blocks over the past five games. Maceyko said she flows to the ball very well on defense. He was happy with the defensive work and overall effort displayed by his team.
“At one point, I think we had three girls diving for a loose ball,” Maceyko said. “We didn’t come up with it, but those are the moments when you realize your players are giving everything they’ve got. There’s not much more you can ask for as a coach.”
Mount Gilead 51, Centerburg 49
Mount Gilead senior Lydia Stalnaker was a force on offense with 17 points to lead the Indians (5-0, 3-0) to a tight 51-49 win over visiting Centerburg (1-4, 0-3) on Dec. 10.
The Indians went up 16-14 in the first quarter with Stalnaker hitting a pair of threes as part of her eight points in the frame. She continued her strong play into the second quarter with five points as Mount Gilead went up 29-24 at the half. Centerburg battled back in the third quarter, outscoring the Indians 14-6, but Mount Gilead had a big 16-point fourth quarter while holding Centerburg to 11 points to secure the win.
Stalnaker was the scoring leader for the Indians with 17 points. Madilyn Elson had eight points and Aubrey Thomas scored seven points. Centerburg was led by Clara Johnson, who scored 16 points. Kennedi Glenn scored nine points and Kenlee Fairall scored eight points.
Cardington-Lincoln 45, Danville 43
Despite a huge 27-point game from Danville's Ella Proper, Cardington-Lincoln (3-2, 2-0) nipped the Blue Devils (2-3, 1-2) in a see-saw battle of a game. While Danville made a comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, the Trojans were able to hold on for a 45-43 win.
The game was tied at 15-15 after one quarter, but Cardington-Lincoln outscored Danville 12-7 in the second to take a 27-22 lead into the half. Both teams scored eight points in the third quarter and Danville outscored the Trojans 13-10 in the final quarter.
Abigail Hardwick was the top performer for the Trojans with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting. She also had five rebounds and three assists. Madison Caulkins had five points, 13 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in an all-around showing. Genevieve Longsdorf scored 10 points and gathered seven boards. She also had two blocks and a steal.
Proper was huge all night for Danville. Her 27 points and all-court performance was in the mind of Cardington-Lincoln coach Kevin Fitzpatrick, who commended Proper for her strong play, and also praised his team for coming through with a big win.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Fitzpatrick said. “We played a great Danville team and it was tight the whole time. Proper had an amazing shooting night. It was definitely punch then counter punch. Both teams played really hard and fought the whole game. I feel that my kids are growing every time they play. We’re learning how to fight adversity and get through it. I’m excited for the rest of the season.”
Wooster 46, Mount Vernon 33
The Mount Vernon girls basketball team (2-4) took on Wooster (2-0) on Dec.10, and it was a tough game all around as Wooster was able to take a 46-33 win in a game where no player reached double figures for the Yellow Jackets.
Wooster outscored Mount Vernon 18-15 in the first quarter, but Wooster took over in the second quarter, making it a 31-19 game at halftime. The second half was just about even with Wooster outscoring Mount Vernon 11-10 in the third and both teams scoring four points in the fourth.
Nevaeh Williams had nine points, nine boards, three assists and a pair of steals to lead the Yellow Jackets. Kaitlyn Thompson scored eight points, gathered eight rebounds and had a steal. Hayley Burke had four steals in the game. Brooklyn Thayer had seven points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal.
