The Ada High School girls basketball team crafted a 12-point lead and then held off a late Lima Central Catholic comeback bid to win a defensive battle 37-31 Tuesday evening, January 4.
The Lady Bulldogs improved to 4-9 with the non-league victory, while the Thunderbird girls fell to 4-7 with the defeat.
Ada led by 12 points early in the third quarter before LCC whittled away the lead to four late in the fourth period, but they got no closer.
"We had all eight players score, so it was nice to see everyone contribute that way," said Ada girls head coach Morgan Bass.
Ada led 4-0 early and never trailed. Katie Sizemore netted the first basket on a feed from Courtney Sumner. Sumner then sank a one-handed runner.
Ada senior Selena Jordan buried a 16-footer, and teammate Mariah King banked in a runner to build an 8-2 margin after the opening period of play.
Bulldog sophomore post Daicy Robinson took over in the second stanza with four inside baskets. She muscled in for a layup from Olivia Burkhart to extend the lead to eight points. She then knocked down a short banker to provide a 12-2 bulge.
T-Bird Bridget Mulcahy ended the 8-0 Bulldog run by hitting a runner 6:56 before intermission. Robinson answered with another short bank shot off a Burkhart assist.
Mulcahy responded by draining a right wing trey to edge LCC within 14-8. But Robinson scored her eighth point in a row on a layup stickback at the 5:22 mark.
"Daicy had a big quarter," said Bass. "She could take us to another level if she plays like that."
Lexi Poling netted a transition layup to build the Ada lead to 18-8. T-Bird Olivia Stolly sank a basket, followed by a lane runner from senior Kirsten Poling.
A Sumner free throw and backdoor cut layin off a Burkhart assist gave Ada its biggest cushion at 23-11.
Stolly made a layup, and Jordan canned a foul shot to put the Bulldogs ahead 24-13 at the half.
Mulcahy opened the second half with two foul shots. Sumner split a pair at the line, and Kirsten Poling made a fast break layup to rebuild the lead to 27-15.
LCC then scored the last six points of the third period, capped by a Stolly 18-footer from the circle that bounced in at the buzzer.
Sumner began the final stanza by making a tough driving bank shot against the tight defense of Stolly. Stolly then stole the ball and went the length of the court for a lay-in to inch the T-Birds within 29-23.
Burkhart sank two foul shots, but Stolly answered by hitting a driving left-handed layup.
Neither team scored for a while as Ada went into a semi-delay offense. Kirsten Poling then broke open and sank a layup off a Sumner bounce pass to put Ada ahead 33-25 with 1:55 left to play.
Senior Poling then came up with two big defensive plays. She stole the ball, followed by a Burkhart foul shot. Stolly splashed a 16-footer to help LCC pull to 34-29 with 53.3 ticks remaining.
After Ada missed a free toss, Poling stuffed a Stolly lane shot, and the Bulldogs won the possession arrow with 38 seconds left. Burkhart converted one of two charity stripers to keep Ada on top, 35-29.
T-Bird Allison Young canned a spinning left-handed layin to cut their deficit to 35-31 with 16.9 seconds left.
But after a timeout, Ada beat the LCC full court press for the clinching basket. Sumner tossed an accurate long baseball pass over the defense to Burkhart, who coasted in for a breakaway layup with 11 seconds left that sealed the outcome.
"We came out a little flat to start the second half, but we found a way to hold on and win," said Bass. "In the past we might have lost the lead and a game like that."
Sumner and Robinson led better-balanced Ada with eight points apiece. Burkhart and Poling each added six markers.
"Kirsten made two big defensive plays late," Bass agreed.
Stolly topped all players with 16 points. Mulcahy added nine markers, but only two other T-Birds scored a combined total of six points.
The Lady Bulldogs knocked down 15 field goals, all two-pointers with no trifectas. Ada converted seven of its 12 attempts from the charity stripe (58 percent).
The T-Bird girls connected on 10 field goals, making nine two-pointers and one triple. They converted 10 of 14 free throws (71 percent).
Ada 37 (4-9)
King 1 0-0 2, Sumner 3 2-4 8, K. Poling 3 0-0 6, L. Poling 1 0-0 2, Burkhart 1 4-6 6, Jordan 1 1-2 3, Sizemore 1 0-0 2, Robinson 4 0-0 8.
Totals: 15-0/7-12/37. 3-pointers: none.
LCC 31 (4-7)
Young 1 2-2 4, Morrisey 1 0-0 2, Mulcahy 2 4-4 9, Stolly 6 4-8 16.
Totals: 9-1/10-14/31. 3-pointer: Stolly 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 8 16 3 10 37
LCC 2 11 8 10 31
The Bulldog girls (0-3 NWC) get a chance to avenge a recent loss when they travel to face backyard rival Allen East (7-5, 0-2 NWC) in Northwest Conference play Thursday, January 6.
"I am excited to see them again," said Bass.
AE beat visiting Ada 46-38 Dec. 30 in the Border Battle title game. The Lady Mustangs lost 59-41 at Van Buren Tuesday night.
