By Cort Reynolds
HARROD__The visiting Ada High School girls basketball team ran into an angry buzzsaw and lost 63-14 at local rival Allen East in a Northwest Conference contest Thursday evening, January 11.
Hard-pressing AE reeled off the first 11 points of the game and never looked back. A 26-0 Mustang run to end the first half put the game well out of reach.
The Bulldogs fell behind by 16 after the first quarter, and went scoreless in period two to trail by 35 at intermission.
The dynamic duo of AE senior Savana Brooks and junior Rilynn Jones combined for 32 points while playing just half of the game to pace the Mustangs to victory.
Junior Ella Miller fired in five of her six three-point goals in the fourth quarter to lead AE with 18 points.
The Bulldogs dropped to 5-9 overall and 0-4 in the NWC with the defeat. Meanwhile, the Mustang girls improved to 9-2 and 1-2 in NWC play with their first league win.
“We never showed much fight,” said disappointed Ada head coach Zach Ricker. “We struggled all night, no one stepped up. We kind of rolled over.”
Coming off a seven-day layoff after a tough loss at Delphos Jefferson, AE was raring to go from the start against their backyard rivals.
“Savana and Rilynn were hungry after the loss to Jefferson, and we hadn’t played in a week,” noted AE head coach Aaron Montgomery.
“Those two got us going early, and when that happens it lights a fire under everyone else,” he continued. “They are the leaders on the court.”
Brooks started the game with a driving layup on the first play. Soraya Jackson sank a southpaw stickback. Brooks then grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled straight upcourt and buried a triple from the top of the key.
Brynn Richardson drained a left wing 19-footer, followed by two Jones foul shots.
“Brynn played well in her first start as a sophomore,” Montgomery pointed out. “She hit her first shot, and I was proud of her defense.”
Senior Mariah King got Ada on the board by hitting two free throws at the five-minute mark. Richardson drilled a right wing 17-footer, yet King answered by hitting a driving right side bank shot with four minutes left to pull Ada within 13-4.
King’s basket would provide the last Bulldog points of the half as AE ran off the final 26 points before intermission.
Ella Miller sank a right wing trifecta at the 3:53 juncture to start the run. Jones stole the ball and made a layup seconds later. Jones then splashed a 14-footer just before the first period buzzer to make it 20-4.
Jones opened the second stanza by drilling a right wing trey. Brooks followed by hitting a left corner trey a minute later. Brooks then scored in the lane on a step through move.
Jones canned two free tosses, followed by a layup from Brooks. Brooks then swished a 10-footer. Jones again ended the quarter with a late basket, this time nailing a right wing triple three seconds before the horn to stretch the margin to 39-4.
“We did a good job bringing energy,” said Montgomery.
Jones poured in 16 first-half points, while Brooks tallied 14. The Mustangs won the second stanza 19-0 and forced 10 first-half turnovers with tenacious defense.
Bulldog senior Katie Sizemore ended their scoreless drought by sinking a free throw early in period three. Brooks scored on a nice backdoor cut layup, and a King basket made it 41-7.
Sophomore post Anna Conley hit a field goal for Ada, followed by a Rylie Jordan triple. AE led 46-9 after three periods with the running clock in effect for the second half.
Miller swished a triple from the top of the key to open the final stanza. Ada soph Ashley Hevlin canned two foul shots before Miller splashed another three from out top.
Conley completed a conventional three-point play inside midway through the fourth period. Ella Miller’s left side trifecta and a breakaway layup by Dylan Miller made it 57-14.
Ella Miller connected on two more triples to cap the game with a 49-point margin.
Senior King led Ada with six points, while Conley added five.
Backup Miller scored all 18 of her points on six treys.
“When Ella shoots with confidence, she can do that,” Montgomery observed. “When she gets it going, you think it is going in every time.”
Brooks and Jones each tallied 16 points. Richardson added five markers.
The Ada girls connected on just four two-point goals and didn’t make a three-pointer against the Muatng defense, which rushed their shots and played tight defense all over the court.
The Bulldogs converted six of their seven free throws (86 percent).
AE canned 13 two-point field goals and splashed 11 shots from beyond the arc. The Mustangs converted all four of their charity stripe tries (100 percent), each by Jones.
AE also won the two-quarter reserve game, 21-8. Evelyn Lehman scored a dozen points for the Mustangs. Hevlin led Ada with seven markers.
It doesn’t get any easier for Ada, which plays at league unbeaten power Delphos Jefferson (11-1, 3-0 NWC) next Thursday.
AE visits Div. II foe Jonathan Alder Monday afternoon, January 16. “They look really good on film, it should be a good matchup,” said Montgomery.
The Mustangs then visit NWC leader Crestview (12-1, 4-0 NWC) Thursday, January 19. The Knight girls pummeled Bluffton 65-33 Thursday night.
Ada 14 (5-9, 0-4 NWC)
Burkhart 0 0-0 0, King 2 2-2 6, L. Poling 0 0-0 0, K. Poling 0 0-0 0, A. Andreasen 0 0-0 0, Sizemore 0 1-2 1, Conley 2 1-1 5, B. Andreasen 0 0-0 0, Hevlin 0 2-2 2, St. Laurent 0 0-0 0.
Totals: 4-0/6-7/14. 3-pointers: none.
AE 63 (9-2, 1-2 NWC)
Jordan 1 0-0 3, Young 0 0-0 0, Richardson 2 0-0 4, Jones 5 4-4 16, Brooks 7 0-0 16, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Benson 1 0-0 2, E. Miller 6 0-0 18, D. Miller 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 13-11/4-4/63. 3-pointers: Miller 6, Jones 2, Brooks 2, Jordan 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 4 0 5 8 17
AE 20 19 7 18 64
2-quarter JV: AE 21, Ada 8.
