East Knox 50, Northmor 42 (OT)
Northmor (8-6, 6-4) and East Knox (7-9, 5-4) fought back and forth, but East Knox’s Sydney Opfer came up with a clutch three with five seconds left to send the game into overtime, where Ella Divan took over to secure the 50-42 win for the Bulldogs on Jan. 18.
Northmor started the game up 8-7, with Madison Simpson and Emily Zeger each nailing threes. East Knox was led by Divan’s five points in the quarter.
Northmor took a 17-15 lead at the half after outscoring East Knox 9-8 in the second quarter. Riley Johnson hit a three and Zeger had four points for the Golden Knights. Natalie Smith led the charge for East Knox with four points and Opfer added three points.
Northmor had the upper hand with a three-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but East Knox was able to take the game into overtime on a 3-pointer by Opfer that banked off the glass and in as regulation time expired. In overtime, it was all East Knox, holding the Golden Knights to a single free throw and scoring nine points led by five points for Divan to take the win.
“East Knox forced us into making a lot of mistakes, but we still had a three-point lead with 12 seconds left,” said Northmor Coach Freddie Beachy. “We played good defense at the end by denying their shooters, but their post player (Opfer) ended up with the ball and banked in a deep three as time expired and went to overtime. We just didn’t recover from that and lost. We just did not play very well, but East Knox caused a lot of that. We just have to cut down on the mistakes regroup and get ready for Saturday against Cardington.”
Opfer scored 17 points to lead the charge for East Knox, which included the fourth quarter three to send the game into overtime. Divan also had 17 points, including a pair of threes in the game. She had 11 points between the fourth quarter and overtime, proving to be a key player in the win. Natalie Smith got into double figures with a 10-point showing, including four big points in overtime.
Northmor was led by Emilee Jordan and Zeger, who each had nine points.
Centerburg 39, Mount Gilead 38
Strong play in practice sessions by Centerburg’s (6-9, 2-6) Olivia Joiner indicated that her best games were on the horizon. She showed that focused practice pays off with clutch play against Mount Gilead (11-4, 6-3) in the Trojans' 39-38 upset victory over their KMAC rivals on Jan. 18.
Centerburg girls basketball coach Bo Glenn said the game was won by clutch play from his squad.
“We had an 11-point halftime lead and they came back and took the lead in the fourth quarter," Coach Glenn said. “Clara Johnson made two clutch free throws on a one-and-one after blocking out on their missed free throws. Olivia Joiner played the best game of her career, which I knew was coming because of her practice habits, and we got a great deflection by Riley Skillman on an inbounds pass at the end, with Evie Stowe coming up with the steal. Girls playing together and defense getting crucial stops equals a win.”
Centerburg went up big early with a 16-6 first-quarter advantage, led by Johnson, who hit a pair of threes and had eight points in the quarter. Joiner scored five points in the opening frame. Madilyn Elson had five points for the Indians.
Centerburg outscored Mount Gilead 12-11 in the second quarter and took a 28-17 lead into halftime. Kayla Larimore, who has been the team’s top scorer during her sophomore season at about 13 points per game, scored all 12 of the team’s points in the quarter.
Larimore scored 14 points, including a three for the Pirates. Joiner had 12 points with a 3-pointer for Centerburg, going 3-for-4 from the foul line, including the clutch shots in the fourth quarter. Johnson scored 10 points and hit a pair of threes, as well as two big free throws.
Mount Gilead was led by Elson’s 12 points and Candace Millisor scored eight points.
Cardington-Lincoln 49, Danville 48
Lydia Hess had a huge night for the Cardington-Lincoln Pirates (9-5, 7-1). The Lady Pirates' captain led the team in scoring and hit the game-winning shot to take a 49-48 win over KMAC rival Danville (5-9, 3-6) on Jan. 18.
Danville started the game with a 14-12 first-quarter lead, led by Ella Proper’s six points and threes by Kylee Hess and Jaylyn Smith. Hess hit a three and had four points in the quarter to lead the Pirates.
The second quarter saw a 13-6 Pirates' advantage to take a 25-20 lead into halftime. Cardington-Lincoln was led by Lydia Hess’s five points, including another three. Jaylyn Workman had four points for Danville.
Danville bounced back in the third quarter with a 15-13 advantage, with Kylee Hess hitting a pair of threes to lead the charge. Lydia Hess sank another 3-pointer to lead Cardington-Lincoln.
It was a 38-35 game entering the fourth quarter, but Danville managed to work its way back into the game with a 48-46 lead, until Lydia Hess played the hero with a 3-pointer to win the game by one.
“I’m super proud of our kids,” said Cardington-Lincoln Coach Kevin Fitzpatrick. “We made the plays when we needed to. We’re showing tremendous growth as a team. Lydia Hess hit the game-winner, but it was truly a team effort to get the win.”
Lydia Hess finished with a game-high 15 points, which included four makes from downtown. Danville was led by Proper, who finished with 13 points on the night. Kylee Hess had nine points, all on 3-pointers.
