Bulldog girls basketball falls to USV

By Cort Reynolds

ADA __ The Ada High School girls basketball team fell victim to a three-point barrage by traditional arch-rival Upper Scioto Valley in a 51-39 defeat Tuesday, January 28.

USV drained 11 three-point goals to spell the difference in the outcome. The Ram girls nailed three triples to spark a first-half ending 11-2 run. USV then drilled three more treys in the third period, including a four-point play, to build a 20-point lead.

Ada gamely fought back with a 15-point fourth period, but the deficit was too big to overcome.

The game was played in the new junior high gymnasium due to a problem with the roof leaking in the high school gym.

The Bulldog record dropped to 2-15 overall after the non-league defeat. Upper Scioto Valley improved to 7-11 with the win.  

“It all comes down to them knocking down shots,” said Bulldog third-year head coach Zach Ricker. “We needed to put more pressure on the ball, we talked about it at halftime.

“We played hard and kept fighting in the fourth quarter,” he noted.

Both teams started out shooting cold in the chilly gym. Ada senior Lexi Poling banked in a tough running southpaw shot to open the scoring. Poling then buried a right wing triple to give the hosts a 5-2 lead.

Shalyn Lawrence buried a right side triple for the first Upper field goal to tie it 5-5 with 3:51 left in the opening stanza. Lawrence then drained a trifecta from the top of the key to give the Rams the lead at the 1:02 mark.

Ada junior post Anna Conley scored on a follow shot to trim the lead to 8-7 after the first period.

Sophomore Brooklynn Andreasen stole the ball, was fouled on the ensuing drive and canned both free throws to give Ada its last lead at 9-8 50 seconds into the second period. 

Ram freshman Chloe Cunningham banked in a right wing trey to make it 11-9. Conley canned a short bank shot on an in-bounds pass from Poling to tie it, 11-11.

Ram sophomore guard Layla Hunsicker scooped in a driving banker, then sank a fast break layup to put USV ahead 15-11 at the 3:30 juncture. 

Conley answered with a putback layin 19 ticks later. Bulldog Kenley Poling drilled an 18-footer to tie it for the last time at 15-all 2:37 before intermission.

USV then reeled off an 11-2 spurt to end the half and take control. Cunningham untied it for good by draining a left wing triple. Thirty seconds later, junior Ivie Gonzalez splashed a right wing trey for a 21-15 lead at the 1:18 mark.

Ada freshman Emily Gibson sank a right side 12-footer 12 seconds later. But Cunningham responded by drilling a left side trifecta with 37 seconds left in the half. It was their third three-pointer in a crucial span of 73 seconds.

Hunsicker then made a driving layup two seconds before the halftime horn to boost the margin to 26-17 at the break.

Andreasen nailed a left baseline 17-footer to open the second half. But then USV responded with a crippling 8-0 run. Sophomore Raegan Castle splashed a triple from the top of the key to ignite the splurge.

Hunsicker canned two foul shots, followed by a Castle layup off an in-bounds play. A Lawrence free toss at the 5:47 juncture put the Rams on top, 34-19. 

Conley stopped the run with a foul shot and a layup when Ashley Hevlin grabbed an offensive rebound and fed her a fine falling-down assist with 2:53 left.

But Cunningham buried yet another three from the right side to make it 37-22. Kenley Poling nailed a 10-footer at the 2:30 mark. Cunningham then drained a dagger left wing triple while being fouled.

She completed the rare four-point play with 2:11 to go in the third to give USV a 41-24 cushion. Freshman Kamryn Titus banked in a left wing 19-footer, and Lawrence added a charity striper as the Rams built a commanding 20-point lead heading to the final quarter.

Yet Ada ran off the first seven points of the fourth quarter to get back in contention. After Conley made a foul shot, Kenley Poling buried a pull-up 17-foot baseline shot in transition. 

Freshman Mariah Burns netted a stickback layup with five minutes remaining to play. Lexi Poling tallied a breakaway layup to cap the flurry with 4:44 left to edge Ada within 44-31.

Castle then hit a big triple from the left corner to quell the Bulldog momentum. Lexi Poling leaked out for another layup. She then hit a tough runner off glass in transition to slice the deficit to 47-35 with 2:40 to play.

The hustling Hevlin made a diving steal near midcourt, which led to another basket by Lexi Poling, cutting the Ram lead to 10. But senior guard Lawrence then stepped up and canned a dagger right wing trey with 1:50 left to put the visitors ahead 50-37.

“We played with a lot of intensity during that 4-5 minute run in the fourth,” said Ricker. “But those two three’s were backbreakers,” he agreed.

Conley sank a layup with 1:41 to go to make the deficit 11. Lawrence split two foul shots with 58 seconds left, and the Rams ran out the final 40 seconds to win by a dozen.

Bulldog senior Lexi Poling paced Ada with 13 points. Conley contributed 11 markers. Kenley Poling added six points.

Three-point sniper Cunningham tallied a game-high 16 points on five triples. Lawrence netted 13 key markers. Castle and Hunsicker each added eight points.

“We did a lot of little things better than we have the last 2-3 games,” said Ricker. “We did a better job of boxing out, but there were times we didn’t then go after the ball after blocking out.”

Ada canned 16 deuces and drilled one triple. The Bulldogs converted four of 11 foul shots (36 percent).

USV sank just five two-pointers, but knocked down 11 big treys. The Rams converted eight of 13 free throws (62 percent). USV outscored Ada 33-3 beyond the arc.

The Ada girls are 0-8 at home after the tough loss.  

Ada (0-8 BVC) plays at league foe Arlington (6-11, 1-6 BVC) Thursday, Jan. 30. “Arlington shoots a lot of three-pointers,” said Ricker.

The postponed game at Ridgedale will be made up Saturday, February 1. The Bulldogs are 2-7 on the road.
 

Ada 39 (2-15)
Lawrence 0 0-0 0, K. Poling 3 0-0 6, Gibson 1 0-0 2, L. Poling 6 0-0 13, Hevlin 0 0-2 0, Burns 1 0-0 2, Conley 5 1-5 11, Andreasen 1 3-4 5.
Totals: 16-1/4-11/39. 3-pointers: L. Poling 1.

USV 51 (7-11)
Hunsicker 3 2-2 8, S. Lawrence 3 4-8 13, Gonzalez 1 1-2 4, Castle 3 0-0 8, Cunningham 5 1-1 16, Titus 1 0-0 2. 

Totals: 5-11/8-13/51. 3-pointers: Cunningham 5, Lawrence 3, Castle 2, Gonzalez 1.