By Cort Reynolds
Bulldog girls play on the road Saturday and Tuesday
Visiting Lincolnview raced to a 24-0 lead and defeated the Ada High School girls basketball team 51-33 in the Northwest Conference opener Thursday night, December 1.
Plagued by turnovers and cold shooting, Ada trailed 22-0 after the first quarter. Lancer junior Addyson Stevens drained three trifectas as six Lincolnview girls scored in the decisive opening stanza.
The Lady Bulldogs fell to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the NWC with the defeat. The Lancers improved to 3-1 and 1-0 in league play after the win.
"We have struggled in the first quarter all season," noted first-year Ada head coach Zach Ricker. "We knew what they would do defensively, but we let them control what we did and we shied away."
Ada had trouble with the physical pressure of the Lancers early on.
"We came out big, we attacked and put pressure on them and it paid off," said Lancer head coach Kyle Williams. "We shot well and with confidence. We handled the ball well for the most part."
Lancer senior Makayla Jackman canned a left-handed drive and drilled a triple early in the second stanza to cap the 24-0 run that started the contest.
"It was the best start we have ever had," Williams agreed.
Freshman post Anna Conley nailed a six-footer at the 4:52 mark of the second stanza to get Ada on the scoreboard.
Conley then hit a short left baseline shot with 3:15 left in the half to make it 29-4. Kendall Hoffman drained a trifecta to extend the lead to 28.
Lancer Carsyn Looser sank her second layup for the Lancers.
Courtney Sumner drilled a trey to start a 7-0 Ada run to end the half.
Bulldog junior Olivia Burkhart canned a baseline runner with 23 ticks left in the half. Burkhart then bounced in a lane runner just before the buzzer to make it 34-11 at intermission.
Ada junior Autumn Andreasen sank an offensive putback to open half two. Looser answered by converting a conventional three-point play.
Jackman sank a layup off a press steal. Emerson Walker stole the ball and made a layup. After Ricker was called for a technical, Jackman split two free throws.
Sophomore guard Lexi Poling swished a left corner trey to make it 42-16. Walker made one of two foul shots. Burkhart drilled a right elbow shot at the two-minute juncture.
Sumner made a free toss to make it 43-19 heading to the final period. Burkhart sank a nice one-footed runner off glass to open the fourth quarter.
Jackman drove and completed an old-fashioned three-point play. Conley responded by making a layup off a nice Burkhart pass. Stevens buried a left corner triple.
Burkhart answered by hitting a two-point goal. Mariah King got a layup in transition to pull with 49-27 at the 4:44 mark.
Andreasen banked in a short shot, then canned a putback to make it 49-31.
King blocked a shot, leading to a Poling breakaway layup at the three-minute mark. Jackman drove through the defense for a layin to stop the 10-0 Ada flurry.
Ada outscored the Lancers 33-29 over the final 24 minutes.
"After the slow start we challenged the girls to respond to adversity," noted Ricker. "At halftime the message was the first quarter happened, let's move forward and play better.
"A game like this is a test of character," he added. "We played hard til the last second. These girls are hard on themselves."
Burkhart topped Ada with 10 points. Conley added a career-high six points.
"That was big for Anna to get going and give us a physical presence inside," said Ricker.
Jackman paced the Lancers with 15 markers. Stevens netted a dozen on four trifectas.
"The Lincolnview guards were athletic and played well together," Ricker noted.
The Lady Bulldogs sank 15 field goals, hitting 13 two-pointers and two shots from three-point territory. The Bulldogs converted just one of five foul shots (20 percent).
The Lincolnview girls canned 20 field goals, including 14 two-pointers and six treys. The Lancers converted five of eight free throw attempts (63 percent).
Ada 33 (1-3, 0-1 NWC)
Gibson 0, Sumner 1 1-4 4, Burkhart 5 0-0 10, King 1 0-0 2, Andreasen 3 0-0 6, Poling 2 0-0 5, Sizemore 0, Conley 3 0-1 6.
Totals: 13-2/1-5/33. 3-pointers: Sumner 1, Poling 1.
L'view 51 (3-1, 1-0 MWC)
Hoffman 1 0-0 3, Price 2 0-0 4, Reindel 0, Jackman 6 2-3 15, Breese 2 0-0 4, Walker 2 2-4 6, Stevens 4 0-0 12, Looser 3 1-1 7, Elling 0.
Totals: 14-6/5-8/51. 3-pointers: Stevens 4, Jackman 2, Hoffman 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 0 11 8 14 33
Lvw 22 12 9 9 51
JV: No game.
Ada (0-1 road) plays next at Perry (2-1) early Saturday afternoon. "It was a tough loss tonight, but we have to forget it and move on," said Ricker. "We have some games coming up that we can win."
Ada visits Riverdale (1-4) next Tuesday, December 6. The Bulldogs then host Columbus Grove (2-2, 0-1 NWC) Thursday, December 8 in an NWC bout. CG lost at Allen East Thursday night, 54-44.
