By Cort Reynolds
The Ada High School girls basketball team tipped off its season with a 54-30 loss at non-league foe McComb Friday night, November 24.
Panther freshman guard Morgan Kern fired in five three-point field goals to tally a game-high 21 points in her varsity debut. No one else on either team canned a single trey.
McComb jumped to an 18-9 lead after the first period as the 5-9 Kern hit two triples. She added another trey in the second stanza as the Panthers stretched the lead to 27-16 at the half.
The Panthers outscored Ada 27-14 after intermission to pull away and capture the win. Kern nailed two more trifectas and scored eight points to lead McComb to an 11-7 third quarter edge.
The Bulldog girls start off 0-1 after the road defeat. McComb is 1-0.
Senior wing Mariah King led Ada with 10 points. Senior playmaker Olivia Burkhart tallied six of her eight markers in the third period. Bulldog sophomore post Anna Conley added seven markers.
Panthers Sarah Rider and Mackenzie Schroeder each netted 10 points to support Kern.
The Bulldogs connected on 12 two-point goals, but made no triples.
McComb converted five free throws, while Ada made six charity stripers. The Panthers sank 17 two-point goals and canned five trifectas.
Ada 30 (0-1)
Burkhart 4 0-0 8, King 3 4-6 10, L. Poling 1 0-0 2, K. Poling 0, Sizemore 0 0-0 0, A. Andreasen 1 1-2 3, B. Andreasen 0, Conley 3 1-2 7.
Totals: 12-0/6-10/30. 3-pointers: none.
McComb 54 (1-0)
Rider 5 0-0 10, Jenkins 0, Like 2 1-1 5, Schaff 1 2-3 4, Wells 0, Schroeder 5 0-0 10, Bryan 1 0-0 2, Kern 8 0-0 21, Weaver 0 2-2- 2.
Totals: 17-5/5-7/54 . 3-pointers: Kern 5.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 9 7 7 7 30
McC 18 9 11 16 54
Ada (0-1) hosts local non-league foe Cory-Rawson (0-2) Tuesday, November 28.
C-R finished fourth in the annual Bluffton Holiday tournament. The Hornets lost to Arlington 42-33 in the consolation game Friday.
Cory previously blew a 15-point halftime lead and lost to the host Pirates 53-50 in the semifinals Wednesday.
Chelci McVetta led C-R with 18 points in the third-place game loss, and was named to the all-tournament team. Hornet Morgan McVetta topped Cory with 20 points in their close loss to Bluffton (1-1).
Allen East defeated the host Pirates 55-37 in the tournament title game Friday night.
The Bulldogs then entertain local arch-rival USV (1-0) Nov. 30.
A two-quarter JV game precedes the varsity contest vs. Cory, but the Thursday game vs. Upper is a varsity-only affair, starting at 6 p.m.