Playing on their home court, the Ada High School girls basketball team competed well but lost 45-36 to Leipsic in a hard-fought NWC battle Monday night, January 31.
The game was moved up from Thursday due to an impending snowstorm.
The Lady Bulldogs trimmed a 12-point deficit in half at 35-29 heading to the fourth quarter. Neither team scored during the first three-plus minutes of the final stanza.
Junior Leipsic guard Whitney Langhals then took off with a long defensive rebound and scored a key fast break layup with 4:49 remaining. The basket broke the ice and sparked a decisive 10-0 run that extended their lead to 45-29.
Ada didn't score in the fourth period until a minute was left. The Bulldogs netted the final seven points of the game.
The Ada girls fell to 5-13 and 0-7 in the NWC. The Lady Vikings improved to 13-5 and finished 4-4 in the NWC with the victory.
A loud crowd was on hand with a large contingent of elementary girl players in attendance, lending energy to the proceedings.
"Obviously we would like to win, but everyone contributed," said fourth-year Bulldog head coach Morgan Bass. "It was a good atmosphere.
"It was a fun and competitive game for the most part," she noted.
Ada trailed 6-2 early when sophomore guard Olivia Burkhart sank her trademark one-footed runner. Viking Leah Kirkendall converted a traditional three-point play before Ada senior Selena Jordan canned a putback.
Leipsic pulled ahead 13-6 when Ada sophomore Mariah King made a basket.
Bulldog junior guard Courtney Sumner then came up with a loose ball and beat the clock with a breakaway 12-foot floater that swished at the buzzer to inch within 13-10.
Sumner began the second stanza with a steal and coast to coast foray that ended with a reverse layin. But 13-12 was as close as Ada would come to taking the lead.
Leipsic then reeled off nine unanswered points to regain control, 22-12. Burkhart ended the spurt by hitting a left baseline runner, and then she splashed two foul shots.
Burkhart scored her sixth consecutive point on a 10-foot lane shot to edge Ada within 22-18. Langhals sank a layup 11 seconds before intermission to give the visitors a six-point lead at the half.
A 6-0 run to open the second half extended the Viking lead to 30-18. Sumner and Burkhart splashed back-to-back trifectas to keep Ada within 32-24 at the 3:48 mark.
A putback by Abby Haselman put Leipsic back on top by 10. Sumner responded by nailing an off-balance right wing triple with 3:15 to go in the third.
Burkhart then stole the ball under the basket and laid it in to slice the Bulldog deficit to 35-29 heading into the final stanza.
Neither team could score in the fourth quarter until 3:11 had ticked off. Leipsic then ran off 10 straight points, and Sumner fouled out with two minutes left to play.
Daicy Robinson netted a stickback layup for the first Bulldog points seven minutes into the final period. Burkhart then swished a left baseline 15-footer.
Ada senior Kirsten Poling buried a trey from out top with 15 seconds left to cut the final margin to nine.
Burkhart topped all scorers with 15 points, while Sumner contributed 12 markers and three steals.
Langhals led eight Vikings in the scoring column with 13 points.
The Lady Bulldogs canned 14 field goals, sinking 10 two-pointers and four treys. Ada converted four of its five attempts from the charity stripe (80 percent).
The Viking girls connected on 18 field goals, hitting 17 two-pointers and sinking one triple. Leipsic canned eight of 14 free throws (57 percent).
Ada 36 (5-13, 0-7 NWC)
King 1 0-1 2, Sumner 4 2-2 12, K. Poling 1 0-0 3, L. Poling 0, Burkhart 6 2-2 15, Jordan 1 0-0 2, Sizemore 0 0-0 0, Robinson 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 10-4/4-5/36. 3-pointers: Sumner 2, Burkhart 1, K. Poling 1.
Leipsic 45 (13-5, 4-4 NWC)
L. Kirkendall 1 2-3 4, A. Kirkendall 0 0-1 0, Henry 3 0-0 6, J. Hermiller 1 1-2 3, M. Hermiller 3 0-2 6, Langhals 5 3-4 13, Schroeder 0 2-2 2, Haselman 3 0-0 6, Martinez 2 0-0 5.
Totals: 17-1/8-14/45. 3-pointer: Martinez 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 10 8 11 7 36
Leip 13 11 11 10 45
The Lady Bulldogs visit winless Calvary Christian in Bellefontaine Tuesday evening, February 1. Ada is also scheduled to play a makeup game at local rival USV (0-18) Saturday, Feb. 5 at noon.
