By Cort Reynolds
ADA__The Ada High School girls basketball team jumped on top early and rolled over visiting Calvary Christian 54-23 in a non-league game on February 6 to celebrate Senior Night in style.
The Bulldogs led 20-5 at the end of the first period as seniors Mariah King and Olivia Burkhart combined for 13 points.
The Bulldog girls stretched the lead to 35-10 at halftime as the duo combined for 27 points by intermission. Ada won the second half, 19-13.
Southpaw King poured in 15 of her career-high 19 points in the first half. Burkhart netted 12 of her 15 markers before intermission.
Ada improved to 9-11 with the lopsided non-conference victory, their second win in a row. Meanwhile, CC fell to 14-3 after the defeat.
“We had a lot of energy, it was the most we have come out to start a game with all year,” said Bulldog head coach Zach Ricker. “We seemed relaxed.
“Mariah attacked the basket and finished well,” he added. “As a team, we finished well. We came ready to play. Liv has found her shot the last few games.”
Junior guard Lexi Poling scored to start the game, and Ada was never threatened.
A Burkhart basket made it 4-1 just 80 seconds into the fray. Kari Gantz sank a field goal for CC to make it 4-3 at the 6:18 mark, yet the Bulldogs seized control with 11 unanswered points.
Senior Autumn Andreasen sank a layup to start the spurt. Classmate Katie Sizemore canned a putback. Speedy senior Mariah King then canned three consecutive baskets, capped by a nice one-footed runner.
Spartan Abigail Reinhard canned two foul shots to stop the momentum. But Burkhart sank a left wing triple, then stole the ball and drove downcourt for a layin to give Ada a 15-point lead at the end of the first period.
King started the second stanza with a driving layup. Burkhart sank a bunny, then drained a left side triple.
Sophomore post Anna Conley scored on a nice pick and roll feed from Poling to give Ada a 9-0 start to the second period.
Kaylee Hurley bounced in a trifecta at the three-minute mark, and Madhuri Cook drained two foul shots to pull CC within 29-10. The hard-charging King sank a layin, then she made a driving shot.
With three seconds left in the half, King converted a short follow shot. Her second three-baskets-in-a-row flurry put the Bulldogs comfortably ahead 35-10 at the halftime break.
Andreasen grabbed a nice offensive rebound and sank the interior stickback to start the second half. King canned a short banker, but Reinhard canned two foul shots.
Freshman Brooklyn Andreasen then converted a putback, followed by a 6-0 Spartan splurge. A Cook steal and layup, followed by four Reinhard free throws, comprised the run.
The relentless King made yet another layup to give Ada a commanding 43-19 lead after three periods.
Burkhart splashed a right side trey, followed by an Autumn Andreasen layup for a 48-23 bulge. Poling swished a 12-footer, and Conley knocked down an eight-foot shot.
Brooklyn Andreasen made a seven-footer off the right baseline to close the game on an 8-0 Ada spurt.
The Bulldogs connected on 22 two-point baskets and sank three treys, all by Burkhart.
Ada converted one of just four free throws (25 percent), while CC canned 14 of 20 charity stripe attempts (70 percent).
The Spartan girls connected on a mere three two-point goals. CC sank one trifecta.
Four Ada seniors – Burkhart, King, Sizemore and Andreasen – were recognized before the game for their career efforts. Burkhart added two blocked shots to her 15 points.
“Katie played extremely hard, she rebounded well and did all the dirty work,” said Ricker.
“Autumn did a really good job defensively on their best player (Reinhard),” the coach noted. “She was averaging 18 points a game and didn’t make a basket. Autumn has settled into that defensive (stopper) role.”
Reinhard scored nine points, all from the foul line. Cook added seven markers.
“Double A” also scored six points, and her sister Brooklyn added four markers.
“Last year, Calvary kind of hung around,” recalled Ricker. “This year we jumped ahead early.”
Ada (0-6 NWC) goes for three wins in a row when they entertain Leipsic (8-10, 1-6 NWC) Thursday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. in another varsity-only contest.
“If we come out like we did tonight vs. Leipsic, we have an opportunity,” said Ricker.
Ada 54 (9-11)
Burkhart 6 0-0 15,
King 9 1-2 19,
L. Poling 2 0-0 4,
K. Poling 0 0-0 0,
A. Andreasen 3 0-0 6,
B. Andreasen 2 0-0 4,
Sizemore 1 0-0 2,
Conley 2 0-0 4,
Johnston 0 0-2 0,
St. Laurent 0 0-0 0.
Totals: 22-3/1-4/ 3-pointers: Burkhart 3.
CC 23 (14-3)
Reinhard 0 9-13 9,
Gantz 2 0-0 4,
Cook 1 5-7 7,
Hurley 1 0-0 3.
Totals: 3-1/14-20/23. 3-pointers: Hurley 1.
SCOREBOARD
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL | |
| ADA | 20 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 54 |
| CC | 5 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 23 |
