Playing local rival Allen East on their home court in Harrod, the Ada High School girls got off to a bad start and lost 56-42 to their backyard foe in Northwest Conference basketball girls basketball play on Thursday night, January 6.
The Ada offense was as frigid as the weather outside for the first period. Aggressive AE forced several turnovers with a press and rolled to a commanding 19-0 lead.
The Bulldog girls fought back with 10 second-quarter points from junior guard Courtney Sumner. But they could get no closer than 13 points and never seriously threatened the Mustangs.
The Lady Bulldogs dropped to 4-10 overall and 0-4 in the NWC with the defeat. Meanwhile, the Lady Mustangs improved to 8-5 and 1-2 in the NWC with the convincing victory.
"You can't dig a 19-0 deficit," said fourth-year Ada head coach Morgan Bass. "I am kind of speechless.
"We played them close over here last week, but tonight we just didn't compete, especially at the start," she added. "I don't understand it."
"We talk a lot about getting off to a fast start to set our tempo and pace," said AE head coach Aaron Montgomery. "So the 19-0 start was right in our wheelhouse. It was good to see us start well after a tough loss Tuesday at Van Buren."
AE sophomore standout Savana Brooks swished a left corner three-pointer on the game's first possession to set the tone and ignite the decisive early run. Kennedy Truex then netted a layup and two foul shots to provide an 8-0 lead at the 3:52 mark.
Mustang Elle Richardson swished a trifecta from topside left to continue the flurry. Opportunistic Truex laid in an offensive rebound basket off a loose ball.
Brooks then drove to complete a conventional three-point play for a 17-0 bulge with 1:12 left in the opening stanza. A lane shot by backup post Alex Rodriguez completed the 19-0 onslaught.
Ada sophomore Mariah King netted the first Bulldog basket on a drive with 25 seconds to go, making it 19-2 after one period of play.
AE freshman guard Rilynn Jones completed a driving three-point play to open the second quarter. Ada soph playmaker Olivia Burkhart answered by banking in a nice lane shot off a spin move.
Another Rodriguez layup with six minutes left in the half made it 24-4. Sumner then heated up for Ada. She splashed a triple from out top, then drained a step-back 16-footer from the left side.
Next, Sumner stole the ball and drove downcourt for a layin that cut the deficit to 24-11 with 2:22 left before halftime.
Brooks stopped the Sumner seven-point run with a layup, followed by a Rodriguez layin off an in-bounds feed from Jones.
Ada sophomore post Daicy Robinson sank a short bank shot after grabbing an offensive rebound. Brooks made a driving shot, but Sumner swished a triple from out front at the 13-second mark to make it 30-16 at intermission.
Richardson stole the ball and drove in for a left-handed layup to start the second half. Brooks was fouled and split two charity stripers, as did Bulldog senior Kirsten Poling.
Burkhart sank a field goal and Brooks responded by muscling in a stickback layin. Sumner drained a trey, but Emma Brinkman answered by swishing a left corner triple to make it 38-22.
Brooks came up with the ball off a scrum and scampered in for a breakaway layup with 1:15 left to build the lead to 18. Brooks then maneuvered her way through the defense for another short basket off the board to put AE comfortably ahead 42-22 heading to the final period.
Sumner split two free throws to open the fourth stanza.
Richardson drove the left baseline for a three-point play. Burkhart swished a 12-footer from the right side, but Truex yanked down an offensive board and converted inside to extend the lead to 47-25.
Sumner scooped up a loose ball and sailed in for a lefty layin with six minutes to go. AE's Aubrey Young countered by nailing an open foul line shot.
King sank a layup putback and Young drained two free tosses. Sumner was fouled and hit the second of two shots with 3:52 remaining.
Jones rattled in a mid-range shot, and Sumner answered by swishing a triple from beyond the top of the key. Rodriguez finished a layup off a nice left-handed entry pass from Jones.
Another Sumner trey and two free throws cut the deficit to 55-38 in the final minute. Two more Sumner free tosses and her layup just before the buzzer sliced the final margin to 14.
Ada outscored AE 20-14 in the final period as Sumner poured in 16 points.
Brooks netted 12 of her team-high 19 points in the first half. Rodriguez tallied nine markers, while Richardson and Truex added eight points apiece.
"Brooks had a great game and Alex stepped up off the bench," said Montgomery. "It won't show up in the stats, but Emma Brinkman played good defense on Sumner and made her work for every point."
Sumner led all scorers with 29 points, and she added two blocks with a pair of steals. Burkhart contributed six markers.
Ada committed 13 of their 18 turnovers in the first half against the full court press of the quick Mustang girls. AE was guilty of only six miscues.
The Lady Bulldogs canned 15 field goals. Ada made 10 two-pointers and five trifectas, all by Sumner. Cold-shooting Ada converted just seven of 15 attempts from the charity stripe (47 percent).
The Mustang girls sank 21 field goals, hitting on 18 two-pointers and three triples. AE converted 11 of 18 free throws (61 percent).
Ada 42 (4-10, 0-4 NWC)
King 2 0-3 4, Sumner 9 6-8 29, K. Poling 0 1-2 1, L. Poling 0, Burkhart 3 0-0 6, Jordan 0 0-2 0, Sizemore 0, Robinson 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 10-5/7-15/42. 3-pointers: Sumner 5.
AE 56 (8-5, 1-2 NWC)
Brinkman 1 0-0 3, Helser 0, Truex 3 2-2 8, Brooks 7 4-8 19, Jones 2 1-1 5, Young 1 2-2 4, Miller 0, Richardson 3 1-3 8, Rodriguez 4 1-2 9.
Totals: 18-3/11-18/56. 3-pointers: Brooks 1, Brinkman 1, Richardson 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 2 14 6 20 42
AE 19 11 12 14 56
Ada hosts undefeated league leader Delphos Jefferson (12-0, 3-0 NWC) in a conference bout Thursday, January 13.
AE plays next on January 13 at 10th-ranked Crestview (10-3, 3-1 NWC).
