By Cort Reynolds
Allen East used tough defense and accurate shooting to defeat the Ada High School girls basketball team 63-25 in the semifinals of the Border Battle tournament on Wednesday night, December 28, in Waynesfield.
Talented AE improved to 8-2 with the convincing win, while overmatched Ada fell to 4-6 with the defeat.
"Allen East is more athletic and has more size," explained first-year Ada head coach Zach Ricker. "We gave up a lot of second chance points on offensive rebounds."
"Our pressing defense was good," said Mustang head coach Aaron Montgomery. "Aubrey Young and Dylan Miller did a fantastic job defensively to frustrate (Courtney) Sumner.
"We knew we had to control Sumner and (Olivia) Burkhart, and we held them to 17 when they average 28," he continued. "Rilynn Jones did a great job on Burkhart."
Mustang senior Kennedy Truex poured in 10 first-period points to shoot the defending Border Battle champions into the early lead.
"Kennedy really got us going early," Montgomery noted. "We attacked the rim well."
Guards Courtney Sumner and Olivia Burkhart each scored three points to keep the Bulldogs within 11-6 early. But Ada would not hit another basket against the smothering Mustang perimeter defense until late in the half.
AE sophomore standout guard Rilynn Jones drained a triple to put the Mustangs ahead by 12 with 1:55 to go in the opening stanza. Truex then canned a right wing 14-footer to make it 20-6 after one period.
Mustang junior Savana Brooks buried a right side triple at the 5:44 mark of the second period. Jones continued to stymie the Ada offense with her tight defense as she recorded a steal and a blocked shot.
AE senior Elle Richardson drained a right corner triple to extend their lead to 26-6.
Sumner split two foul shots to finally stop the 17-0 AE run. Jones answered by drilling a wide-open three from the top of the key 2:55 before intermission.
Burkhart splashed two foul shots to cut the deficit to 20. Burkhart then shed her defender and drilled a left side 14-footer with 25 seconds left in the half for the lone Bulldog basket of the quarter.
Ada went to intermission trailing 29-11, and the tenacious Mustangs did not let up in the third quarter.
AE defensive ace Aubrey Young drilled an 18-footer to open the third period. Ada junior Autumn Andreasen answered by canning a right side layup. Young drained another shot from just inside the three line for a 33-11 bulge.
Jones scored again in transition, then fed Truex for a line drive left wing triple and a 25-point lead. Brooks made a fast break layup off a Jones assist at the 4:15 mark.
Dylan Miller sank a driving layup to continue the AE assault. Sumner split a pair of free tosses. Brooks sank a one-footed runner off glass while fouled, and completed a three-point play.
Ada junior Katie Sizemore canned a short shot off a Sumner pass, but Dylan Miller drained a three-pointer. Sumner ended the quarter by banking in a pretty left-handed runner to make it 48-18 after 24 minutes of play.
AE freshman Rylie Jordan banked in a triple, and Sumner responded with a basket. Mustang reserve Ella Miller drilled a left wing triple, and Sizemore split two foul shots.
Brynn Richardson banked in a lane runner. Jordan banked in a follow shot to stretch the lead to 60-24.
Ada's Ashley Hevlin later split two free tosses. Mustang Skylar Benson banked in a short putback for the final basket.
Truex scored 13 in limited action to lead AE. Jones tallied 11 and Brooks 10. Jordan added eight off the bench.
Sumner led Ada with 10 points. Burkhart added seven markers.
"Our focus was to slow down Brooks and Jones," noted Ricker. "But Truex hurt us, and they hit some shots against our zone.
"We just didn't match up well with them," he added.
AE connected on 25 baskets, sinking 16 deuces and nine treys. The Mustangs hit four of eight foul shots (50 percent).
Ada connected on eight baskets, including seven deuces and one triple. The Bulldogs converted eight of 20 at the charity stripe (40 percent).
AE 63 (8-2)
Patterson 0, Jordan 3 0-0 8, Truex 6 0-0 13, Brooks 4 1-3 10, Jones 3 3-3 11, Young 2 0-0 4, Payne 0, Kessen 0, Benson 1 0-0 2, D. Miller 2 0-0 5, E. Richardson 2 0-0 5, Zeller 0 0-1 0, Nickles 0 0-0 0, E. Miller 1 0-0 3, B. Richardson 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 16-9/4-8/63. 3-pointers: Jones 2, Jordan 2, Brooks 1, Richardson 1, Truex 1, E. Miller 1, D. Miller 1.
Ada 25 (4-6)
King 0 0-0 0, Sumner 3 4-6 10, Burkhart 2 2-2 7, Hevlin 0 1-2 1, Allison 0 0-2 0, Andreasen 1 0-2 2, Poling 1 0-0 2, Sizemore 1 1-2 3, Conley 0 0-2 0.
Totals: 7-1/8-20/25. 3-pointer: Burkhart 1.
1 2 3 4 F
AE 20 9 19 15 63
Ada 6 5 7 7 25
The Mustangs defend their title in the finals of the Border Battle tournament at host Waynesfield (4-4) Friday, Dec. 30. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
W-G staved off USV 45-39 in the second semifinal Wednesday. The favored Mustangs seek their fourth girls Border Battle crown in five tries. The Bulldog girls won the other BB title in 2019.
Ada will take on traditional rival USV (3-7) in the third-place consolation game at noon Friday, Dec. 30.
