SIDNEY — Fort Loramie finished regular season in a kind of a rut according to head coach Carla Siegel. The Redskins lost to Russia by 12 points on Feb. 8 and then followed with a 25-point win over Marion Local last Tuesday, which Siegel said was only a ‘okay effort’ from the team.
There wasn’t anything just ‘okay’ about the Redskins in a Division IV sectional opener against Ansonia on Saturday at Sidney. They jumped out to a 14-point lead by the end of the first quarter and cruised to 69-20 win over the Tigers.
“Our energy today was a lot better than it’s been the last five or six games,” Siegel said. “I thought the seniors setting the tone, the starters did a good job and then we had younger girls do some pretty good things.”
After getting the big first-quarter lead, Fort Loramie used a 26-5 advantage in the second quarter to take a 47-12 halftime lead. Sophomore guard hit Dana Rose hit a 3-pointer from the right wing at the buzzer to push the lead to 35 points.
The OHSAA has installed a new rule for tournament games this year which uses a running clock in the second half for all games where a scoring gap reaches 35 points. The running clock continues unless the gap falls under 30 points.
The entire second half of Fort Loramie’s game was played with a running clock, but that didn’t prevent some younger players from getting time on the court. Nonstarters accounted for nearly half of Fort Loramie’s points
“They just bring a breath of fresh air,” Siegel said of the younger players. “Anytime you lose at the end of the season like we did to Russia, I think it’s a wakeup call. I think it adjusts where your focus is and points out your weaknesses, things you’re not doing well. Our girls had to readjust and do things better.”
Rose finished with eight points and was one of several young players who pleased Siegel on Saturday.
“This is her first time playing varsity, and she did awesome,” Siegel said of Rose. “The good thing about our program is that our JV team always does the same thing our varsity team does. We always practice together. So it wasn’t a huge adjustment for her and them.”
Marissa Meiring led Fort Loramie with 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals while Kenzie Hoelscher scored 11 points and had seven rebounds and three steals. Kennedi Gephart scored 10 points.
Fort Loramie shot 30 for 72 (41 percent) from the field and forced Ansonia into 23 turnovers.
“Playing as a team is good, and I thought today, our team chemistry was very good,” Siegel said.
Fort Loramie, the No. 1 seed in the Sidney D-IV sectional, will play No. 9 Lehman Catholic in a second-round game on Wednesday.
Ansonia, the No. 11 seed, finished 5-18 overall. Trinity Henderson led the Tigers with nine points.
Triad 48, Jackson Center 46
Jackson Center scored the last eight points of the game but couldn’t complete the rally in a Division IV sectional quarterfinal on Saturday at Sidney.
Elizabeth Hickey scored six of her eight points in the fourth to help the Tigers rally. Madilyn Platfoot, Caroline Freiders, Kylie Hartle and Olivia Clark also added baskets to aid in Jackson Center’s 17-15 fourth-quarter scoring edge.
Clark led the Tigers with 22 points. Jackson Center, which advanced to the final four in D-IV each of the two years, finished 8-15 overall. Saturday was the last game for Clark, a 6-2 center, and Kennadie Reese, a 5-5 guard, who were multiple-year varsity players.
Jackson Center led 8-6 at the end of the first quarter, but Triad used a 21-10 scoring advantage in the second to take a 27-18 halftime lead. Alea Ferguson scored eight of her 14 points in the quarter to help the Cardinals take control. Frani LeVan added 11 points for the Cardinals (12-11).
Jackson Center clawed back with an 11-6 scoring advantage in the third quarter, but Triad started the fourth with a 15-9 edge to take a 10-point lead into the final two minutes.
Triad, the No. 5 seed, will face No. 6 Houston in a sectional semifinal on Wednesday at Sidney.
Russia 56, Fairlawn 22
Russia jumped out to a 35-9 halftime lead and cruised from there in a Division IV sectional quarterfinal on Saturday at Sidney.
The Raiders took an 18-2 lead by the end of the first and outscored the Jets 17-7 in the second quarter. Russia won the third quarter 8-4 and the fourth 13-9.
Laurissa Poling and Whitney Pleiman each led the Raiders with 12 points. Jenna Cordonnier scored 11, all in the second quarter. Seven other players scored for Russia (18-5).
Kennedy Spicer and MaCalla Huelskamp each led Fairlawn with seven points. The Jets, who didn’t have any upperclassmen on the roster, finished 3-20 overall.
The No. 2 seed Raiders will face No. 12 Mississinawa Valley on Tuesday in a sectional semifinal.
Beavercreek 63, Sidney 26
The No. 17 seed Yellow Jackets couldn’t stop top-seeded Beavercreek in a Division I sectional quarterfinal on Saturday at Vandalia-Butler’s Student Activities Center.
The Beavers (19-4) jumped out to a 20-4 lead by the end of the first quarter and boosted their lead to 34-7 at halftime. A 14-9 scoring advantage in the third quarter pushed the lead to 48-16.
Junior guard Alina Kindle led the Yellow Jackets with 10 points while junior forward Kyana Johnson scored seven and senior guard Lauren Baker scored six. Sidney shot 10 for 28 (35.7 percent) from the field and had 38 rebounds.
Sidney finished the season 2-21 overall. All five of Sidney’s starters on Tuesday were underclassmen.
