A short-handed Ada High School girls basketball team fought hard but lost a 46-38 battle to talented backyard rival Allen East in the title game of the fourth annual Border Battle tournament Thursday evening, December 30, at Harrod.
AE took control with a 14-1 run midway through the first half, then held off a game Lady Bulldog rally. Ada edged within four just before halftime and was down just six with 71 seconds left, but could get no closer.
The hard-luck Lady Bulldogs fell to 3-9 with the defeat, while the young and promising Lady Mustangs improved to 7-4 with the championship victory.
"We were proud of our efforts," said fourth-year Ada head coach Morgan Bass. "They went on a run to end the first quarter that hurt us.
"Effort-wise we were there, we didn't give up," she continued. "Mariah King stepped up. Olivia Burkhart was solid."
Injury-plagued Ada jumped to a 4-0 lead on a 12-foot baseline swisher from senior Selena Jordan, and a 17-foot left side shot by Courtney Sumner.
AE junior Kennedy Truex tallied their first eight points with the aid of a triple and two mid-range shots.
Freshman guard Rilynn Jones came off the bench and netted a driving layup and a pull-up shot to give AE a 14-7 lead.
Versatile sophomore Savana Brooks hit two foul shots, and Jones then stole the ball and scooped a layup that rolled around the rim and dropped in at the first period buzzer for a 19-7 margin.
The Mustang girls ended the quarter on a 12-1 flurry.
Another steal and breakaway layup by the quick Jones opened the second stanza. Ada senior Kirsten Poling then scored four straight points, followed by two Olivia Burkhart free throws.
AE's Aubrey Young ended the 6-0 Ada spurt with a driving three-point play. Bulldog southpaw soph Mariah King banked in a nine-footer, followed by four quick points from Sumner to inch within 24-20.
Mustang Elle Richardson split two foul shots to give the hosts a five-point halftime edge.
Brooks nailed a right baseline 17-footer to start the third period, in which she scored all eight AE points. Brooks converted a three-point play off a fine save/pass by Richardson for a 30-20 lead.
Brooks then netted a lay-in off a nice backdoor cut with 5:54 left in the third quarter. Next, she crashed the boards for a rebound foul and converted one free toss.
King banked in a short left side shot for Ada. She then sank a layup off a nice Lexi Poling pass with 12 seconds to go in the third period, cutting the deficit to nine heading to the final quarter.
Brooks made it 10 points in a row for her team by making a stickback layin with 7:15 remaining. A minute later, Jones drove through the defense for a layup. Sumner answered with her own driving basket.
Poling sank a putback layup with 5:11 to go, and then King blocked two shots on the same play to thwart AE. Sumner was fouled on a jumper and canned both free throws to inch within 37-30.
Truex followed in her own miss at the four-minute mark.
Brooks swished two foul shots with 2:40 left, but Jordan made a layup from Burkhart's press-breaker pass. Yet Jones drove, was fouled and canned both shots for an 11-point lead with two minutes to go.
Sumner kept Ada alive by sinking a triple from out top seconds later. King thn scored inside off a long baseball pass from Sumner to cut it to 43-37 with 1:11 left.
The determined Brooks split two charity stripers with 32.6 seconds to go. An Ada 18-footer rimmed out, the plucky Jones rebounded and was fouled at the 15.8-second mark. The sweet-shooting freshman swished both shots to seal the outcome.
Poling drove and drew a foul, making one of two shots with 8.6 seconds left to provide the final margin of eight.
Brooks was named tournament MVP, while Mustang Richardson and Bulldog Burkhart were also named to the all-tourney team. Jones also scored 29 points in the tournament.
Hard-driving Brooks scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half, while sixth man Jones tossed in 14. Truex added 10 markers.
Despite playing with a wrist injury, Sumner led Ada with 14 points. King and Poling tallied eight markers apiece.
The Lady Bulldogs canned 13 field goals, sinking 11 two-pointers and two trifectas. Ada converted 10 of 16 attempts from the charity stripe (63 percent).
The Mustang girls connected on 15 field goals, making 14 two-pointers and one triple. They converted 15 of 20 free throws (75 percent).
Ada 38 (3-8)
King 4 0-0 8, Sumner 4 5-6 14, K. Poling 1 3-6 8, L. Poling 0, Burkhart 1 2-4 4, Jordan 2 0-0 4, Sizemore 0, Robinson 0 0-2 0.
Totals: 11-2/10-16/38. 3-pointers: Sumner 1, Burkhart 1.
AE 46 (6-4)
Brinkman 0, Truex 4 1-2 10, Brooks 4 7-9 15, Jones 5 4-4 14, Young 1 2-3 4, Miller 0, Richardson 1 1-2 3, Rodriguez 0.
Totals: 14-1/15-20/46. 3-pointer: Truex 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 7 13 4 14 38
AE 19 6 8 13 46
Waynesfield beat USV in the third-place game Thursday, 63-45.
Ada (1-4 home) hosts LCC (4-6) Tuesday, January 4 in a non-league bout. The Bulldog girls (0-3 NWC) then visit rival AE (0-2 NWC) for a return engagement in Northwest Conference play January 6.
