By Cort Reynolds
The Ada HIgh School girls basketball team saw their season come to an end as they lost to New Bremen 45-32 in the Div. IV sectional finals Saturday night, February 18, at Lima Shawnee.
The lone Ada senior Courtney Sumner scored 13 points in her last game to narrowly break the Ada girls program record for career points by just three markers.
Sumner needed 11 points to surpass the mark set by Ada coach Morgan (Dumbaugh) Bass over her first three varsity seasons, 15 years ago. It took until late in the third quarter before Sumner broke the record, ending the suspense.
A four-year starter, Sumner ended up with 1,370 points. She will continue her basketball career at Ohio Northern University.
Ada finishes its season 11-12 with the defeat. The fourth-seeded Cardinals improved to an identical record of 11-12 after the sectional title victory.
"The girls played hard and did what was asked of them," said Bulldog first-year head coach Zack Ricker. "I am happy for Courtney being able to get the scoring record, as I know that was a personal goal of hers and something she worked to get."
The Bulldog girls led 12-6 early, but then fell into a drought. The Cardinals tied it up 12-12 after the first period on a Marina Nelson triple right before the buzzer.
Sumner knocked down three first-period field goals. Katie Sizemore made two baskets, and Autumn Andreasen added another field goal.
NB broke the game open behind a 16-8 second stanza as Nelson netted seven points. Senior Ella Pape also knocked down a trifecta and two foul shots for the Cardinals in the momentum-shifting quarter.
Ada went scoreless in the second period until almost three minutes remained in the half.
Sumner nailed a trey and a foul shot in the second quarter. Olivia Burkhart canned two free throws, and Sizemore hit another basket as the Bulldogs trailed 28-20 at the intermission break.
The Cardinals inched further in front 39-27 after three quarters. Chloe Homan canned three baskets in the third stanza to pace NB, while Nelson also drained a triple.
Sumner made a foul shot late in the third period to break the previous mark of 1,367. Bulldog teammates Mariah King, Burkhart and Andreasen each hit a two-pointer in the quarter.
NB milked the clock for much of the low-scoring, 6-5 fourth quarter.
Sumner sank a two-point goal in the final stanza, her last Bulldog basket. Yet NB pulled ahead 45-30 midway through the fourth period as Pape drilled two triples.
Andreasen scored inside to cut the deficit to 13, but it proved to be the final points of the season. After an Ada turnover, NB ran off over a half minute before turning the ball over to the Bulldogs.
Homan stole the ball for NB and they ran off more precious clock. Bulldog junior playmaker Burkhart swiped the ball, but couldn't quite convert at the other end.
Sumner led Ada with 13 markers in her Bulldog swansong. Juniors Andreasen and Sizemore each tallied six points. Burkhart added five.
NB's Homan led all players with 17 points. Nelson notched 13 markers, and Pape added 11. Nelson and Pape each hit three triples.
Ada canned a dozen two-pointers and hit one three-point goal. The Bulldog girls converted five of nine foul shots (56 percent).
"The goal we had coming into the season was to win more than 10 games, and we were able to accomplish that with 11," Ricker summed up.
"From top to bottom, the girls have made a lot of progress since day one, and they have bought into what we are trying to do," he added.
The Cardinals connected on 16 baskets, sinking 10 two-pointers and six triples. NB converted seven of nine shots from the charity stripe (78 percent).
The Cardinals advance to the Wapakoneta district semifinals against top-seeded league rival Marion Local (20-4) Thursday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m.
All four teams in the Wapak district are MAC squads. Spencerville sectional champions Minster (13-10) and St. Henry (16-8) are the second and third seeds, respectively, and will face off Feb. 23 in the second district semifinal.
Ada 32 (11-12)
King 1 0-0 2, Sumner 5 2-5 13, Burkhart 1 3-4 5, Poling 0 0-0 0, Andreasen 3 0-0 6, Sizemore 3 0-0 6, Conley 0 0-0 0.
Totals: 12-1/5-9/32. 3-pointers: Sumner 1.
NB 45 (11-12)
Hays 0 0-2 0, Hirschfeld 0 0-0 0, Pape 3 2-2 11, Rindler 1 0-0 2, Powers 1 0-0 2, Nelson 5 0-0 13, Homan 6 5-5 17.
Totals: 10-6/7-9/45. 3-pointers: Pape 3, Nelson 3.
1 2 3 4 F
NB 12 16 11 6 45
Ada 12 8 7 5 32
