Southeast District Division IV Championship
No. 1 Fairfield Union 35, No. 2 Circleville 22
CHILLICOTHE — Fairfield Union’s defense limited most of what Circleville wanted to do offensively Saturday as the Falcons claimed a Southeast District Division IV title 35-22.
Circleville’s defense was getting it done as well in the first quarter as the teams combined for only 13 points and FU held a slim 7-6 edge.
The Tigers added points from four players in the second to take a 15-12 lead into halftime. FU was only 2-9 from the field and missed all six free throw attempts in the quarter.
Fairfield Union started to take control of the game in the third quarter.
The Falcons limited Circleville to just two field goal attempts through the first five minutes and four for the quarter – all which Circleville missed. Even though the Tigers got the rebounds on three of those misses, eight turnovers led to a scoreless quarter.
On the other end of the court, FU was only 1-7 from the field but hit four free throws to take a 19-15 lead.
A three from FU’s Maycee Martindill and two free throws from Taylor Smeck came in the first minute of the fourth.
Addison Edgington finally ended Circleville’s 10-minute scoring drought scoring with 6:45 on the clock.
Turnovers continued to be a problem for the Tigers, though.
Maddilyn Mitchell made a steal near midcourt and turned it into a score. Circleville’s next possession ended in a turnover and Fairfield Union’s Christian Thomson sunk a three a few seconds later. Martindill then got in the passing lane as Circleville was trying to bring the ball up the floor and she gave a quick pass to Mitchell for the third Falcon score in less than a minute.
That basket gave FU its largest lead of the game at 31-17.
“In the first half, I thought we did a good job attacking, meeting passes, I thought we spaced the floor well, I thought our cuts were crisp,” Circleville coach Brian Bigam said. “In the second half, we were more clogged up, our passes got weaker – I don’t know if we’re not in good enough shape and they wore us down.
“Then when they made their run and got up, I tried to burn some timeouts, and I thought we played a little frazzled instead of continuing to play to win in that situation.”
Falcon pressure led to 17 second half turnovers for the Tigers and Circleville had 23 for the game.
This was the third meeting between the teams with Fairfield Union winning the first two 48-37 and 41-35. Late turnovers were key in both of those games, as well.
“You’re looking at their place and at home, it’s a one-point game going into the fourth and, I think, we had double digit turnovers in the fourth quarter in both of those games,” Bigam said. “You can’t beat good teams giving away that many possessions.”
The Falcons had 16 turnovers Saturday, but only three in the third quarter when they were able to get control of the game.
Thompson was the game’s top scorer with 18 points, and she pulled down nine rebounds.
Edgington led Circleville with eight points and eight rebounds.
After finishing as district runner-up last year, coming into this season, Bigam said the team talked about what it would take to make the next step.
“We talked before the season that your big three – softball, volleyball and basketball last season – that was three straight runners-up and we talked about what it took to become a district champion,” Bigam said. “In those sports, that’s four straight district runners-up so we’ve got to figure out what the next step is to get over the hump and move past this situation to win it.”
The Tigers will have an experienced group of players returning next season to help take that next step as the team loses only one senior, but it’s an extra special player to coach Bigam as it is his daughter, Maddux.
“I’ve coached 22 years and to get to coach your kids is a nice part of it. I don’t know that she would always think it’s nice because I’m harder on her,” he said. “I give her credit because she’ll wear it if it’s her, but sometimes when I’m mad at the team in general, she wears it in those situations, too. I know that’s not necessarily always fair.
“I missed her her junior year and I’m glad she came out and played this year. As a coach you spend a lot of time away from your family – my team is my family during the season – but it’s a bonus when one of your actual kids is on the team.”
The Tigers wrap up the season with a 20-5 record.
Fairfield Union (25-0) advances to a regional semifinal Tuesday at Zanesville against Indian Creek (16-9).
Fairfield Union 35, Circleville 22
Circleville — Maddie Blakeman 1-0-3, Kaylee West 2-2-6, Jocelyn McLaughlin 1-0-3, Addison Edgington 4-0-8, Mallory McConnell 1-0-2. Three-point goals — Blakeman, McLaughlin. Totals — 9-27 2-6 22.
Fairfield Union — Christian Thompson 5-5-18, Maddilyn Mitchell 2-0-4, Taylor Smeck 0-4-4, Maycee Martindill 2-1-7, Alexis Leith 1-0-2. Three-point goals — Thompson (3), Martindill (2). Totals — 10-35 10-18 35.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Circleville 6 9 0 7 22
Fairfield Union 7 5 7 16 35
Central District Division V Championship
No. 1 Johnstown 44, No. 4 Amanda-Clearcreek 22
COLUMBUS — Johnstown’s defense kept Amanda-Clearcreek in check throughout Saturday’s Division V championship game on the way to a 44-22 win.
The Aces were limited to two points in each of the first two quarters but only trailed 15-4 at the break.
AC struggled from the field, hitting just 17 percent of its shots (8 percent from three-point range).
The Aces wrap up their season with a 14-11 record.
Johnstown (21-3) heads to Ridgedale to take on Ottawa-Glandorf (22-0) in a regional semifinal Wednesday.