No. 1 Circleville 53, No. 2 Logan Elm 37
LOGAN — They came in as the top two seeds in the Southeast District with identical records and having split their matchups in the regular season. Both teams gave it all they had but it Circleville was that get out on front early and stayed there to end Logan Elm’s season 53-37.
The win gave Circleville the Southeast District Division IV title after finishing as district runner-up the last two seasons.
“With it being my senior year, this is just something that we’ve had on our goal sheet from the beginning,” said Maddie Blakeman, who is the lone senior remaining from those runner-up teams the last two seasons. “You know, we got that league title, and then next is the district title, and we got that, and I think that we just need to keep moving forward and just be us, and I think we’ll be all right.”
Her teammates had her back in telling her she was going to get that district title.
“They’ve all been telling Maddie, like, you’re not done yet. You’re not done yet, Maddie,” coach Josh Blakeman said. “So, you know, having that one senior and her being the emotional leader, it’s a big deal to them. And this team, they’re really tight. It’s just a fun group to be around.”
Addison Edgington and Mallory McConnell took turns scoring to give Circleville an 8-0 lead to start the game and the Tigers were up 11-4 after one quarter.
Those two, along with Blakeman and Kaylee West, each had baskets to start the second with Circleville extending the lead to 20-4.
A basket from Kimmy Petty and 10 points from Kiki Ingram allowed the Braves to fight back and close the gap to 23-16 by halftime.
“We knew this was going to be a tough game with it being our rival school. So, I just think that we had to jump out on them quick,” Maddie Blakeman said. “And then they made a little run, and I think that’s just a big part of our game. We knew we would have to just weather the storm and be ready for them to make runs because they are a good team.
“I think we did a good job at when they did come down and hit shots, we gave it right back. And I think that we kept our heads up the whole time, and I think it paid off in the end. “
Maleah Gardner started the second half with a basket for the Braves but Circleville scored the next seven points on the way to extending its lead to 37-23 at the end of the third.
Edgington had 11 of her 26 points in the fourth quarter to help the Tigers clinch their first district title since 2020.
“Most of them have only been alive for one district championship. My middle daughter (Morgan) was on the other team that won it, so it feels like it wasn’t that long ago, but it’s been six years now,” Blakeman said.
And he wants his players to understand what they’ve accomplished.
“A lot of the kids, they remember that one, but they weren’t alive for anymore. So that’s why I try to tell them, you know, everyone doesn’t act like this is that big of a deal. This is a big deal, ladies,” Blakeman said. “Our district is always tough, and we have to beat really good teams that get there. So, it’s a big deal, and they’re super excited.”
Saturday was a bittersweet end for the Braves as they accomplished many of their preseason goals, but ending the year with a loss is always tough.
“We were hoping to be able to be top three in our league, finished second. We were hoping to be able to compete for a district title,” LE coach Mike Schultz said. “We had a belief system in it, even before this season started. And again, they did everything, everything that they possibly could.
“Within the game itself, a lot of our shots at the beginning of the game, they just weren’t going — from short shots, long shots, layups. We were missing a lot. I look at the final score — we lost by 16. We found ourselves down early 20 to 4, so from that moment, we battled.
“When we cut it to seven, I thought that we were in a good place.”
Circleville widened the gap in the third to get control of the game.
“A lot of credit to Josh, a lot of credit to Circleville. They have an opportunity of representing our league deep into this tournament,” Schultz said.
The Braves lose three starters off this year’s team that have been important members of the team throughout their high school career in Ingram, Petty and Kennedy Groff.
“The seniors, they’ve made such an impact with everything that we’ve done. They’ve led, but they’ve led well,” Schultz said. “So they’re in that locker room right now, each of them’s taking an opportunity to talk to the seniors and just share.”
Ingram finished as LE’s leading scorer with 19 points. She ends her career as the all-time leading scorer for the Lady Braves with 1,676 points.
Circleville used its size advantage to dominate the boards to the tune of a 49-27 rebounding edge. Three Tigers had double-digit rebounds led by Edgington with 15 and Blakeman and McConnell each grabbed 11.
Palynn Wray led LE with eight rebounds.
The Tigers (21-5) don’t have much time to enjoy the title as West Holmes is waiting for a regional semifinal Tuesday night in Zanesville.
Blakemen said playing a number of tough teams in the Mid-State League has the Tigers ready for new opponents.
“It’s just rugged every single night. These kids beat each other to death. I just think that helps a lot when you’re going in to play other teams,” he said. “ And then our zone, I mean, our zone is, they’re really good at it. Those kids work hard in that zone, and when they’re active, and you’ve got Addison standing down there in the middle, I mean, it just works.”
West Holmes (12-12) was the 4 seed in the East District and knocked off the No. 1 to win its district title.
No. 1 Circleville 53, No. 2 Logan Elm 37
Logan Elm — Palynn Wray 2-0-5, Kimmy Petty 2-0-4, Kiki Ingram 8-3-19, Maleah Gardner 1-0-2, Gillian Savage 3-0-7. Three-point goals — Wray, Savage. Totals — 16-52 3-4 37.
Circleville — Brooklyn Cramer 3-4-11, Maddie Blakeman 2-4-8, Kaylee West 1-1-4, Addison Edgington 12-2-26, Mallory McConnell 2-0-4. Three-point goals — Cramer, West. Totals — 20-55 11-20.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Logan Elm 4 12 7 14 37
Circleville 11 12 14 16 53
