No. 9 Cardington-Lincoln (14-9, 8-4) kicked off the Division III Central 1 Sectional Tournament with a 46-34 win over No. 20 Columbus School for Girls (7-16, 1-13), with senior Abigail Hardwick leading the charge with 16 points.

The Pirates had to work their way back into the game, as they trailed 15-10 after one quarter. Hardwick and Jill Bertke each had four points, and Magi Hallabrin added another bucket.

In the second quarter the Pirates held the Unicorns to only six points, but they had trouble scoring with only four of their own with baskets by Hardwick and Hallabrin. At halftime, Cardington-Lincoln was trailing 21-14, led by a six point effort for Hardwick.

The Pirates came out with a fire lit under them in the third quarter, outscoring the Unicorns 22-6. They hit three from downtown in the quarter, with Lundyn Blevins draining a pair and Lydia Hess also making one. 

The Pirates had a solid fourth quarter wherer they outscored the Unicorns 10-6. The Pirates were fueled by a three for Kinstin Henthorn and Hardwick nailing five of her six free throws.

Hardwick went 6-for-8 from the line, and led all scorers with 16 points. Bertke put up eight points, Blevyns had six points, and Hess and Henthorn had five points apiece. Hallabrin scored four points and Madison Caulkins rounded out the scoring with two points that came on a fourth quarter basket.

Next up is Bishop Ready, who is the sixth seed and coming off a 50-39 win over Elgin in the opening round. The Silver Knights have won six straight games and on the year they are 18-6 with an 11-3 record in the Central Buckeye Conference, good for second place.

The Pirates take on Bishop Ready on Feb. 24 at 6 p.m.