By Cort Reynolds
The Ada High School girls basketball team defeated visiting county rival Hardin Northern 39-25 behind a fourth quarter defensive stand in a hard-fought matchup Tuesday night, November 29.
Ada led 25-23 heading to the fourth period, and held Northern without a field goal in the final quarter to win going away.
The Bulldogs improved to 1-2 with their first victory, while HN fell to 1-1 with the non-league defeat.
The Polar Bears sank just one field goal in the final 10 minutes against the stingy Ada defense.
"Getting the first win is huge for the girls, they needed that confidence boost," noted first-year Ada head coach Zack Ricker. "It wasn't the prettiest win, but they pulled it together.
"Overall, we had a lot of contributions as a team," he added. "We got some big stops and points off turnovers."
"We needed to hit some bunnies and free throws," said veteran HN head coach Brady Mast. "Give Ada credit, they made it difficult for us defensively. They put good pressure on the ball."
HN led for most of the first period after an early right side trifecta by senior Bella Wilson.
Ada sixth man Autumn Andreasen got on the offensive boards in the first period, grabbing three such caroms to give the team a needed shot in the arm. Lexi Poling drilled a left side triple for the first Bulldog points.
Andreasen's three-point stickback play inside tied it 7-7.
Bulldog senior guard Courtney Sumner drove the length of the floor and spun in a scoop shot to hand Ada its first lead with a 9-8 edge after the opening stanza.
Polar Bear freshman Lainey Thomas sank a left elbow shot to open the second period. Ada regained an 11-10 lead when Sumner found Andreasen with a nice bounce pass for a layup and a 12-11 edge at the 5:11 mark.
Kylie Clem canned a 13-footer to put HN back in front. Hustling Bulldog junior Katie Sizemore tied it 12-12 on a foul shot.
Sumner stole the ball and drove in for a southpaw layup and a 14-12 lead with 1:09 left in the half. Sumner then splashed two free throws with just 7.2 ticks to go to put the Bulldogs ahead 16-12 at intermission.
"It got away from us a bit at the end of the second period," Mast noted.
Bear ace Thomas drained a foul shot to open the second half. She then made a nice spin move in the lane and banked in an eight-footer to edge within 16-15.
Sumner banked in a short second-effort putback at the 6:16 mark. Thomas rolled in a one-footed runner a minute later.
Ada junior guard Olivia Burkhart drilled a left wing triple at the 3:40 juncture to advance the lead to 21-17.
Thomas drove uncontested down the right side of the lane for a layup at the two-minute mark to inch within 21-20.
Sizemore then sank a basket, but Wilson buried her second trey to tie it 23-23 with just under a minute to go in the period.
Burkhart stole the ball and cruised in for a layup with 15 seconds left to give Ada a 25-23 lead it would not relinquish heading to the fourth period.
Sumner penetrated for a three-point play with 7:22 remaining to increase the Ada lead. Bear senior Emma Martin drew a foul and split two free throws.
Andreasen canned a layup off a pretty drive and dish bounce pass from Burkhart to provide a six-point edge. Burkhart then came up with a steal, drove and bounced in a lane runner for a 32-24 margin at the 5:07 mark.
Sumner stole an errant pass, sped in and sank a contested layin with 4:17 remaining to extend the lead to 10.
Thomas was fouled at the three-minute mark and made one of two foul shots. Sizemore canned a weakside putback, followed by a breakaway Sumner layup at the 2:22 juncture to provide a 13-point cushion.
Sumner then drew a foul and split two foul shots. Neither team scored down the final stretch to keep the final margin at 14.
"Defensively, we picked them up more," said Ricker of the fourth period lockdown. "Switching Olivia onto Martin was key. She put good pressure on the ball, too."
Sumner led Ada with 16 points. Andreasen scored a season-best eight points and grabbed eight big rebounds. "Autumn gave us a presence down low, and she is getting better every game," noted Ricker.
"We didn't box out well or keep them off the boards," Mast noted.
Burkhart scored all seven of her points in the second half. Sizemore added five markers.
Thomas led HN with 11 points. Wilson added six markers on two triples.
The Bulldogs sank 15 field goals, hitting 13 two-pointers and a pair of shots from three-point territory. The Bulldogs converted seven of 12 foul shots (58 percent).
The Polar Bear girls canned nine field goals, including seven two-pointers and two treys. HN converted just five of 15 free throw attempts (33 percent). "Free throws hurt us," Mast agreed.
Ada won the two-quarter reserve game, 15-14. Anna Conley scored nine points to lead the Bulldogs. Catherine Overs netted six for the HN reserves.
Ada 39 (1-2)
Sumner 6 4-7 16, Burkhart 3 0-0 7, King 0 0-0 0, Andreasen 3 2-3 8, Poling 1 0-0 3, Sizemore 2 1-2 5.
Totals: 13-2/7-12/39. 3-pointers: Burkhart 1, Poling 1.
HN 25 (1-1)
Thomas 4 3-8 11, Clem 2 0-1 4, Martin 0 2-6 2, Wilson 2 0-0 6, Trachsel 0, Good 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 7-2/5-15/25. 3-pointers: Wilson 2.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 9 7 9 14 39
HN 8 4 11 2 25
JV: Ada 15, HN 14.
Ada (1-1 home) opens Northwest Conference play by hosting Lincolnview (2-1) Thursday, November 29. With no JV contest, the varsity game tips off at 6 p.m.
"We have to make a big step from tonight's game to Thursday," said Ricker. "Lincolnview is solid, they play well together. We need to limit turnovers and finish easy shots."
The improved Lancers pounded former NWC foe Paulding 58-30 Tuesday.
