In their February 10 home game, the Ada High School girls basketball team started slowly and lost to Spencerville 55-32. This was their Northwest Conference and home season finale. The Lady Bulldogs finished the regular season 8-14 and 0-8 in the NWC after having their three-game win streak snapped.
The Lady Bearcats improved to 13-8 with the win, and finished 5-3 in the NWC to take fourth in the nine-team league.
Delphos Jefferson won the league title outright by two games at 8-0. Columbus Grove and Crestview tied for second place at 6-2.
"Their length was an issue for us," said fourth-year Ada head coach Morgan Bass. "Our effort was there, but we were out-matched physically."
Ada trailed 10-2 after the first quarter as they failed to sink a field goal. Bearcat senior Lilyan Goecke posted up for three first period layups, yet Spencerville missed all eight of its free throw attempts to help keep the game close.
Senior Kirsten Poling canned the first Ada basket when she swished a left baseline 15-footer with 6:27 left before halftime. The Bearcats reeled off six unanswered points before a Sumner basket cut the deficit to 19-6.
Lady Bulldog junior guard Courtney Sumner was fouled shooting a right wing trey and sank one of three free throws at the 3:15 mark. Kirsten Wurst drove and banked in a left-handed runner.
Ada sophomore playmaker Olivia Burkhart splashed a right wing triple, followed by a long Emma Prine deuce. Claire Hoback hustled downcourt in transition and canned a putback layin just before the halftime horn to give the Bearcats a 25-10 cushion.
Gabi Croft sank a pair of shots to start the third period, sandwiched around a Burkhart left wing triple she drained to make it 29-13.
Burkhart splashed one of two foul shots, and southpaw Croft buried a trifecta from out top. Burkhart knocked down a 17-footer from the circle to cut the deficit to 32-16.
Sumner banked in a triple at the 4:08 juncture. Goecke drained two free throws, and Heidi Keller drilled a high-arching three with 2:13 left.
Sophomore Mariah King banked in a runner in transition to make it 38-21. Keller sank another basket, followed by a Hoback layin off a nice Goecke diagonal pass.
Emma Prine banked in a follow shot, but Burkhart canned a lane runner just before the buzzer to make it 44-23.
Two Goecke foul shots opened the final stanza. Poling rattled in a 17-foot left wing shot, and Croft scored in transition off an Ada turnover.
Sumner drove the lane and tossed in a spectacular blind, overhead banker while getting fouled. She completed the three-point play with 3:33 left to play.
Goecke answered by hitting a three-pointer. Poling responded by nailing a left wing triple with 2:15 remaining. Sumner split two foul shots to finish the scoring.
Sumner and Burkhart tallied 11 points apiece to pace Ada. Poling added eight markers.
"Kirsten Poling had one of her better offensive games," Bass noted.
Goecke led all players with 15 points, while Croft added 11 and Keller hit for nine.
The Lady Bulldogs connected on 11 field goals, canning seven two-pointers and four treys. Ada connected on six of 14 attempts from the charity stripe (43 percent).
The Bearcat girls connected on 22 field goals, hitting 18 two-pointers and four triples. Spencerville converted just seven of 18 free throw tries (39 percent).
Bulldog seniors Kirsten Poling and Selena Jordan played their final home games. Ada finished 3-7 at home.
Ada 32 (8-14, 0-8 NWC)
King 1 0-2 2, Sumner 3 4-8 11, K. Poling 3 1-2 8, L. Poling 0, Burkhart 4 1-2 11, Jordan 0, Sizemore 0, Robinson 0.
Totals: 7-4/6-14/32. 3-pointers: Burkhart 2, Sumner 1, K. Poling 1.
Spencerville 55 (13-8, 5-3 NWC)
Croft 5 0-0 11, Wurst 3 0-2 6, Goecke 5 4-4 15, Prine 2 1-6 5, Hoback 2 1-2 5, Keller 3 1-2 9, Orr 0 0-2 0, LeMar 1 0-0 2, Godsey 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 18-4/7-18/55. 3-pointers: Keller 2, Croft 1, Goecke 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 2 8 13 9 32
Svl 10 15 19 11 55
The 10th-seeded Lady Bulldogs play fifth seed Parkway (14-7, 4-4 MAC) in the sectional first round Wednesday, February 16 at 7 p.m. in Shawnee.
