No. 2 Logan Elm 51, No. 3 McClain 42
LOGAN — Logan Elm took advantage of some early turnovers and managed through a little bit of foul trouble to hold off McClain 51-42 Wednesday night.
The win sets up the No. 2 seeded Braves for a district championship game with No. 1 seed Circleville Saturday afternoon. The teams split their regular season contests with each winning at home. Now they’ll face off on the neutral court at Logan High School.
“You don’t have to say anything when it comes to that game that’s coming up on Saturday,” LE coach Mike Schultz said. “Both teams have the desire. We have the utmost respect for what Josh (Blakeman) does and for who Circleville is, but we’re going to be as prepared as we possibly can and, at the end of the day, the kids have to go out and play the game.”
The Braves (20-4) scored seven points off five McClain turnovers in the opening period to lead 13-10.
After McClain (19-5) opened the second with a basket, LE’s Kiki Ingram followed with a seven-point run to give her team a 20-12 lead and the half ended with the Braves up 24-18.
“It just comes to those moments that, when you have an opportunity, get downhill with the ball, play physical,” Schultz said of taking advantage of the turnovers. “You know, we’re sort of that finesse team that wants to do those physical things. It doesn’t come natural to us, no matter how hard we work at it in practice.”
McClain was the first to score in the third before Ingram had another seven-point run. This time she followed a three-point play with a steal and a score and did it again a few seconds later to push LE’s advantage to 31-20.
McClain finished the quarter strong and LE’s lead was 36-30.
The Braves worked through a bit of foul trouble as starter Kennedy Groff picked up two fouls early in the first quarter. Ingram had two in the first half and then got whistled for her fourth with four seconds left in the third.
While the Braves had to do a little more lineup shuffling than normal down the stretch, they never let McClain get closer than six points in the final period.
Schultz said he can’t recall a time in the last couple of seasons where they had to manage Ingram’s time like that but it didn’t really matter.
“The great thing is that when needed, you’re going to have the rest of the team that’s going to pick up. I mean, how do you replace Kiki? There’s no replacement for her, but it takes a team, and that’s what we were able to see tonight, where everyone contributed, no matter if they came off the bench or if they started,” Schultz said. “I think everyone had a special moment.”
Ingram finished the night with 24 points, Kimmy Petty had eight and Groff and Gillian Savage each had six.
Paisley Pryor led the Tigers with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Larah Henson had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
When the Braves return to Logan Saturday, they’ll be trying for the school’s first district title since 1994. And no matter what happens, Schultz said he’s been able to coach a special group this season.
“These kids know how to honor each other. They know how to respect each other, and they truly love each other, where they know, I’m gonna fight for you, that you’re worth fighting for, and they have each other’s back to whole time through the thick and the thin,” he said. “They want to play for each other, and they don’t want to fail each other.”
The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip at Logan.
No. 2 Logan Elm 51, No. 3 McClain 42
McClain — Larah Henson 5-1-12, Paisley Pryor 8-3-21, McKenzie West 0-2-2, Allie Burgess 1-0-3, Leah Lovett 1-2-4. Three-point goals — Henson, Pryor (2), Burgess. Totals — 15-43 8-12 42.
Logan Elm — Palynn Wray 2-0-5, Kimmy Petty 2-3-8, Kiki Ingram 10-3-24, Kennedy Groff 2-0-6, Maleah Gardner 1-0-2, Gillian Savage 3-0-6. Three-point goals — Wray, Petty, Ingram, Groff (2). Totals — 20-48 6-11 51.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
McClain 10 8 12 12 42
Logan Elm 13 11 12 15 51