Circleville 44, Amanda-Clearcreek 38
CIRCLEVILLE— Circleville survived a bit of foul trouble to send Amanda-Clearcreek home on the short end of a 44-38 score.
“It was reminiscent of Pick North, we got in some foul trouble and different girls have got to step up,” Circleville coach Brian Bigam said. “Addison (Edgington) and Maddie (Blakeman) being in foul trouble is not ideal for us, but I also like that it gives other players the opportunity to step up.
“I thought Mal McConnell was big for us in the third quarter. I put her in when Addison got her second in the second quarter. I thought she did some good things in there. Jocelyn McLaughlin stepped up for us and has hit some big threes since we lost Brooklyn (Cramer) with the ACL.
“It’s fun to see that since those girls work hard every day in practice.”
The Aces were able to get out to a 14-9 lead in the first quarter, but the period ended in a 14-14 tie and Circleville led 23-17 by halftime.
“They made a nice little run on us early,” Bigam said. “That’s another thing that I liked is after they made a run, I called a timeout, and we responded to it and we were able to take the lead before halftime.”
The third period saw Circleville have to sit a couple of its key players for significant amounts of time because of foul trouble but the Aces weren’t able to take advantage of it as they only cut two points off Circleville’s lead.
“They weathered the storm there in the third quarter and that’s when we should have made our run, to be honest,” AC coach Tim Leist said. “With that zone, you’re going to get looks and it comes down to making a couple of shots here and there. With a team like that, there’s not a real margin for error. So, we had to make a couple of shots there and we just didn’t. Then we had two straight illegal screens and that just takes the air out of it.”
The fourth quarter started with Circleville up 32-28 and the Tigers scored the first four points while keeping the Aces from scoring for five minutes.
The Tigers hit six of 10 free throw attempts down the stretch to preserve the win.
Edgington led the Tigers with 14 points, Blakeman had had 11 and McLaughlin eight.
Taylor Evans led the Aces with 16 points, Hayden Plank had 12 and Kaylee Wilson 10.
Circleville (15-2, 10-1) travels to Miami Trace Wednesday before hosting Fairfield Union (17-0, 10-1) Friday in a game that will decide the league title.
“We talked before the game that if we want Friday to have any type of meaning – we don’t look ahead – but you’ve got to beat Amanda who is a great team with a lot of great players,” Bigam said. “At least the girls gave themselves the opportunity to play for a share on Friday night and that’s all you can ask for.”
The Aces (12-6, 5-5) travel to Adena Tuesday.
“We’re playing better now and that’s where we want to be. Sure, this stings a little but because I thought we had a good shot,” Leist said. “We’ve just got to continue to get better, get ready for the draw, get ready for the tournament and hopefully make a run.”
Circleville 44, Amanda-Clearcreek 38
Amanda-Clearcreek — Hayden Plank 4-2-12, Taylor Evans 3-9-16, Kaylee Wilson 3-3-10. Three-point goals — Plank (2), Evans, Wilson. Totals — 10-14-38.
Circleville — Maddie Blakeman 3-4-11, Julianna Sims-Ross 0-1-1, Kaylee West 1-4-6, Jocelyn McLaughlin 3-0-8, Addison Edgington 6-2-14, Mallory McConnell 1-2-4. Three-point goals — Blakeman, McLaughlin (2). Totals — 14-13-44.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Amanda-Clearcreek 14 3 11 10 38
Circleville 14 9 9 12 44
Grove City 54, Teays Valley 33
GROVE CITY — Teays Valley had a tough Monday with its trip to Grove City as the Greyhounds picked up their 15th win of the season 54-33.
Grove City got out in front early and held a 31-15 lead at halftime.
Tessa Horsley led the Vikings with 13 points and eight rebounds. Cooper McManaway added eight points and Avery Mann had six.
Mia Bumgarner led Grove City (15-2) with 12 points and Salia McLeod had 11.
The Vikings (5-12) host Lancaster Thursday.
Grove City 54, Teays Valley 53
Teays Valley — Cooper McManaway 3-0-8, Areyana Karshner 1-0-2, Kenzington Younkin 1-0-2, Avery Mann 3-0-6, Cali Banks 1-0-2, Tessa Horsley 6-1-13. Three-point goals — McManaway (2). Totals — 15-1-33.
Grove City— Nora Chessir 2-0-4, Ava Summers 3-2-8, Addy Hansen 2-3-7, Olivia Reber 2-3-7, Mia Bumgarner 4-1-12, Salla McLeod 4-1-9, Kylie Wilis 3-0-7. Three-point goals — Bumgarner (3), Willis. Totals — 20-10-54.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Teays Valley 9 6 6 12 33
Grove City 17 14 9 14 54
Lancaster 69, Teays Valley 50
LANCASTER — Lancaster separated itself from visiting Teays Valley in the second half Monday night to get a 69-50 league win.
The Gales had a 32-29 lead at halftime and extended it to eight points entering the fourth and outscored the Vikings by 11 in the final eight minutes to close out the win.
Brody Fields led the Vikings with 26 points. Owen Hoffhines scored eight for the Vikings, Luke Burgett six, Tanner Smith five, Calvin Wolpert and Haden McCray each had two and Jayden Morrison had one.
Cam Eaton led Lancaster (9-7, 3-6) with 29 points while Andrew Whitlatch had 23 and Colton Bruny had 12. Davis Call added five.
The Vikings (2-13, 1-8) host Bishop Watterson Tuesday.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Teays Valley 15 14 10 11 50
Lancaster 19 13 15 22 69