WAYNESFIELD — Botkins pulled away early and cruised to a 54-24 nonconference girls basketball win at Waynesfield-Goshen on Thursday.

The Trojans took a 12-4 lead by the end of the first quarter and pushed it to 29-8 at halftime. Makenna Maurer scored nine of her game-high 17 points in the first half on three 3-pointers to help Botkins take control early while Aleah Johnson scored eight of her 14 in the first half. Boston Paul added eight points.

The Trojans (4-1) will play next on Saturday when they travel to Russia for a Shelby County Athletic League game.

Minster 56, Delphos St. John’s 41

The Wildcats earned a Midwest Athletic Conference victory on Thursday at Delphos St. John’s.

Minster built a 19-8 lead by the end of the first quarter and led 32-18 at halftime. The squad then used a 17-9 scoring advantage in the third quarter to run away.

Dana Prenger led Minster with 15 points while Ella Mescher scored 14 and Ivy Wolf added 10.

The Wildcats (5-1, 2-0 MAC) will play next on Dec. 21 when they travel to Russia.

New Knoxville 34, New Bremen 26

New Bremen couldn’t hold onto an early lead and suffered its first defeat of the season in a MAC game at New Knoxville on Thursday.

The Cardinals took an 8-6 lead by the end of the first quarter but the Rangers used a 9-4 scoring advantage in the second to take control, then pulled away with a 13-9 advantage in the third and 6-5 advantage in the fourth.

New Knoxville took advantage of free-throw opportunities. The squad shot 10 for 12 at the free-throw line while the Cardinals were 0 for 5.

Madison Cordonnier led New Bremen with 16 points and seven rebounds. Jacklyn Leffel led New Knoxville with 10 points while Ellie Gabel added seven.

The Cardinals shot 12 for 33 (36 percent) from the floor while the Rangers shot 11 for 40 (28 percent). New Bremen had a 25-23 rebounding advantage.

The Cardinals (5-1, 1-1) will play next on Saturday at Delphos Jefferson.

Marion Local 48, Versailles 45 OT

The Tigers suffered their first MAC loss of the season on Thursday in Versailles. The undefeated Flyers used a 7-4 scoring advantage in overtime to secure the win.

Versailles took a 16-9 lead by the end of the first quarter but Marion Local pulled within 27-25 by halftime. The teams traded baskets to a 34-32 score at the end of the third before the Flyers forced overtime by tying it 41-41.

Heidi Raterman made a basket for the Flyers with 15 seconds left in regulation to tie it. Brooke Homan hit a basket to give Marion Local a 43-41 lead early in overtime and Raterman followed with another.

Lindsey Winner led the Tigers with 14 points while Brooke Stonebraker scored 13 and Danielle Kunk added 10.

Versailles (6-2, 2-1) will play next on Saturday at Lima Bath.

• Bowling

Sidney boys, girls sweep Piqua

Sidney’s boys and girls bowling teams swept archrival Piqua in Miami Valley League matches on Thursday at Bel-Mar Lanes in Sidney.

The boys team won 2,392-2,215 to improve to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in MVL play. Jaxon Rickey rolled a 463 series and Logan Finke rolled a 414 series.

“Big win against a big rival,” Sidney coach Trent Knoop said. “We were tied going into the second regular game and we were able to have a big game. We were without Kaden Abbott tonight, who was sick, and Brodey Morrow stepped up nicely in his spot.”

The girls team earned its first win of the season by beating the Indians 1,732-1,567. Camryn Smith rolled a 346 series, Sarah Bell rolled a 285 series and Emma Hurley rolled a 282 series. The squad is now 1-3 overall and 1-1 in MVL play.

“Big first win for the girls,” Knoop said. “We were led by Camryn Smith with her high game of a 213. Girls rolled the ball great tonight. Always nice to win against your rival.”

The victories earned two points for Sidney in the Sidney vs. Piqua all-sports trophy competition. With the wins, Sidney has its first lead of the year in the competition at 7-6. The first school to reach 11.5 points will secure the trophy, which is in its third year. Sidney won the last two years.