Playing at home, the Ada High School girls basketball team led for most of their December 21 game but succumbed to Kenton 42-39 in a spirited non-conference contest.
With just seven players suited up, the short-handed Lady Bulldogs played with a lot of intensity but ultimately ran out of gas and size.
The feisty Ada girls dropped to 2-7 with the hard-fought defeat. The Lady Wildcats improved to 3-5 with the comeback win.
"I was proud of our effort," said fourth-year Lady Bulldog head coach Morgan Bass. "All seven players communicated and played as a team; "We were focused and engaged from the start."
Bulldog junior guard Courtney Sumner pumped in 19 first-half points and added three steals to shoot Ada into a 24-20 intermission lead.
Sumner figured in all 15 of the Ada points in the first period. She canned a 10-foot left baseline shot, followed by a right wing triple to give Ada an early 5-0 advantage.
Sumner then canned five free throws and a driving layup. She capped her opening period onslaught by swishing a step-back trifecta from out top to put the hosts ahead, 15-9.
Sumner hit a free throw early in the second period to keep Ada in front. Post Daicy Robinson then became the first Bulldog other than Sumner to score when she sank a putback layin.
Sophomore playmaker Olivia Burkhart converted two foul shots to advance the Ada lead to 20-13. Yet Kenton edged within 21-20 on consecutive layups by Sadie Larrabee.
Sumner then sped upcourt and launched a 40-footer from the right side as time expired. The shot banked cleanly through the net to give Ada a 24-20 intermission edge.
Bulldog sophomore Katie Sizemore was elbowed under the left eye on the last play of the half, but gamely returned for the second half with a black eye to play solid defense.
Kenton 6-2 post Tatum Miller muscled inside for two points to open the second half. Sumner answered with two foul shots. Burkhart then effectively doubled down on Miller once again for a deflection.
Three Wildcat foul shots cut the Ada lead to 26-25. A stickback layup from the burly Miller gave Kenton its first lead. Ada senior Selena Jordan swished a short jumper to put the Bulldogs back on top at the 2:27 mark, 28-27.
Ali Harpel converted two free throws, but Ada sophomore Mariah King canned a layup off a nice Sumner bounce pass to give the Bulldogs a 30-29 edge.
A free throw by Wildcat Macee Heckathorn tied it 30-all.
Larrabee nailed a putback at the 5:31 mark to break the ice in the fourth quarter. Emily Pees converted one of two foul shots 32 seconds later to give the Wildcats a three-point lead.
A technical foul on Kenton after a foul call changed the momentum and gave Burkhart four free throws with 4:22 remaining. She calmly drained all four shots to put Ada back on top, 34-33.
Miller was fouled with 3:26 left and split two charity stripers to tie it. Sumner untied it with two free throws at the 2:40 juncture, but Miller scored inside again to knot the score once more.
"When Daicy fouled out, we had no one to match up with Miller," Bass explained.
Gabi Wetherill split a pair at the line to put Kenton ahead, 37-36.
King converted a well-executed pick and roll from Sumner and banked in a short shot to give Ada a 38-37 edge with 77 ticks remaining.
Miller split two foul shots with 1:08 to go, but a costly putback off the second miss gave the Wildcats a 40-38 lead.
The Bulldogs missed a three-pointer and King rebounded the loose ball while straddling the baseline, but her saving pass went out of bounds with 25 seconds left.
Kenton eluded a foul and fed Miller, who scored inside at the 17-second mark for a 42-38 lead to cap the decisive 8-4 run.
Speedy Sumner flew upcourt and drew a foul with 5.5 ticks left. She missed both free throws, but Ada rebounded and Jordan was fouled while shooting at the 1.9 mark.
Jordan canned the first shot and after a timeout she missed the second on purpose, but it was rebounded by Miller and time expired.
Bass noted that the plan was for Jordan to miss the second foul shot intentionally. "We wanted her to miss it on purpose, get the rebound and kick it out to Courtney in the corner for a three," she said.
Sumner led all scorers with 23 points. Burkhart tallied all seven of her points at the foul line, while King added four markers.
"They made some second-half defensive adjustments on Courtney," Bass noted. "They sagged off and helped a lot on her drives."
Miller led Kenton with 17 points. Larrabee added 11 markers.
The Lady Bulldogs canned nine field goals, sinking six two-pointers and three treys. Ada connected on 18 of its 26 attempts from the charity stripe (69 percent). Sumner alone canned 10 of 15.
The Wildcat girls connected on 13 field goals, all two-pointers with no triples. They converted 16 of 25 throws (64 percent).
Ada 39 (2-8)
King 2 0-0 4, Sumner 5 10-15 23, L. Poling 0, Burkhart 0 7-8 7, Jordan 1 1-2 3, Sizemore 0, Robinson 1 0-1 2.
Totals: 6-3/18-26/39. 3-pointers: Sumner 3.
Kenton 42 (3-5)
Pees 0 1-2 1, Wetherill 1 1-2 3, Harpel 0 4-4 4, Larrabee 4 3-4 11, Heckathorn 1 2-4 4, Nolting 1 0-0 2, Miller 6 5-9 17.
Totals: 13-0/16-25/42. 3-pointers: none.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 15 9 6 9 39
Kent 9 11 10 12 42
The Lady Bulldogs play traditional arch-rival USV (0-9) at Allen East December 28 in the Border Battle tournament semifinals.
Ada will then face either host AE (4-4) or Waynesfield (2-6) in the finals or consolation contest Dec. 30.
