Cardington-Lincoln 51, Olentangy Berlin 49 (OT)
Cardington-Lincoln (11-9, 8-4) and Olentangy Berlin (8-10, 3-4) fought a see-saw battle all game and went into overtime. Cardington-Lincoln took the Feb. 9 contest, 51-49, led by Abigail Hardwick's 18 points.
In the first quarter, the Pirates shined defensively with steals by Genevieve Longsdorf, Hardwick and Lydia Hess. The game was tied 2-2 for the first three minutes until Samantha Spires drained a three to make it a 5-2 game, leading to a 7-0 run highlighted by a 3-pointer by Lydia Hess. Kaliann Hardy also had a steal in the quarter, and at the end of the first Hess added her second steal.
“We played our best first half of the season in the game,” coach Kevin Fitzpatrick said. “We defended well, rebounded and scored. We moved the ball and made open shots. We hadn’t scored like that in a long time.”
The third quarter saw the Pirates with a 10-point lead, but in the fourth quarter the Olentangy Berlin squad got hot from three and the Pirates struggled to score in stretches. The Lady Bears ended the quarter with a buzzer-beater to tie the game and send it to overtime.
“In overtime, we missed the first shot and had to defend,” Fitzpatrick said. “They held the ball for almost 45 seconds and drilled a three to give them a lead. Sam Spires made a baseline jumper to cut the lead to one. They tried to hold the ball so we had to match up man-to-man. We forced a turnover and got the ball back down one.”
The Pirates attacked the rim and had two shots before Hardwick grabbed her only offensive rebound of the game and scored to give them a 50-49 lead. Olentangy Berlin missed a shot and then the Pirates got fouled with very little time on the clock.
Spires made the first shot of a one-and-one then missed the second, which was followed by an Olentangy Berlin timeout.
“We forced them into a more than half court and it fell short,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was a great win for us going into tournaments. The kids put their heart and soul into getting that win. I couldn’t be more proud of them all."
Hardwick led with 18 points, Longsdorf had 10 points and Spires added eight points in the win.
Highland 38, Cardington-Lincoln 24
In a low-scoring defensive battle, Highland (3-17, 1-12) defeated Cardington-Lincoln (11-10, 8-4) on Feb. 11 by a 38-24 count.
The first quarter was scoreless when C-L's Makayla Woods swatted away a Highland shot for a block. Woods had a pair of blocks in the quarter. Highland was up 3-1 when Abby Jordan made it a five-point game on a 3-pointer from the corner. On the following Cardington-Lincoln possession, Kameron Stover hustled for a loose ball and came away with a steal. She had two steals in the quarter. Bryleigh Young found herself wide open and drained a three to make it a 9-1 game, putting Highland up big early.
At the end of three it was a 33-14 game, as Cardington-Lincoln was held to only three points, which came on a Lydia Hess trey.
Stover finished as the game's high-scorer with 14 points. Bellamy had nine points, including a make from downtown. Cardington-Lincoln was led by Spires, who had seven points, six boards, one assist and three steals.
This was the final home game for Highland seniors including Jordan, Woods, Shelby Conley and Guinevere Jackson. Coach Matt Bradley thanked them for their leadership.
Fredericktown 46, Licking Valley 39
Fredericktown (8-14, 4-9) handed Licking Valley (4-16, 2-8) their fourth-straight loss by a score of 46-39 on Feb.11.
The Freddies went up 11-6 to start the game with senior Grace Sipes fueling the offense with six points.
In the second quarter, Fredericktown had a 19-point onslaught and held the Licking Valley squad to 10 points. Jill Bouton scored all seven of her points in the quarter. Cally Carpenter added five points to give the team a 30-16 halftime lead and cruised from there.
Carpenter and Ella Bouton both had 11 points and Sipes scored eight points, going 4-for-6 from the foul line.
Freddies' coach Tim Maceyko said he was happy to be able to get the win at home for Sipes, who is the team’s lone senior and had a solid game in the victory.
“We wanted to send our one senior, Grace Sipes, off with a win,” Maceyko said. “We came out strong and then managed to accomplish our goal tonight. The team was dialed in during that first half."
Earlier in the week, Carpenter, who leads the KMAC in scoring at about 15 points per game, suffered a sprained wrist while playing Loudonville. Maceyko said there was some concern about this and they decided to use her in a bench role.
“We didn’t start her, but she wasn’t willing to sit this one out so we got her some minutes," Maceyko said. "It’s been that kind of season. Hoping she feels better for our tournament game. It has been an outstanding finish to the regular season. (I am) very proud of these girls.”
Northmor 48, Galion 13
Northmor (11-12, 6-6) finished out their regular season strong, stifling Galion’s (2-18, 1-13) offense in a 48-13 win on Feb. 11.
Northmor started with a quick three by Lauren Johnson, less than 10 seconds into the game. They went on to score the first five points of the game. Johnson also had two steals in the quarter.
The Golden Knights had the pedal to the metal the whole first half, and found themselves up 18-3 in the second quarter, highlighted by a three for Riley Johnson with 1:50 left. Johnson recorded her third steal of the night in the quarter.
The dominance continued for the Golden Knights in the fourth quarter, as Lauren Johnson had her fourth steal that led to a fast-break jump shot she banked off the glass to put Northmor up 38-9.
