ANSONIA – The Ansonia Lady Tigers battled back from a 10-2 first quarter deficit to defeat the neighboring Mississinawa Valley Lady Blackhawks in the annual Route 47 Showdown 47-35.
“We got off to a slow start,” said Ansonia coach Bruce Davison. “I hand it to Mississinawa., They came ready to play, they were very aggressive, they hit shots, they were executing well.”
The Lady Hawks used six Taylor Stachler first quarter points including a 3-pointer, three points each from Mattie Hiestand and Madi Townsend and a Brenna Price free throw to lead Ansonia 12-7 after one quarter of play.
“I shared with the girls, you have to weather the storm,” Divison stated. “The game of basketball is a game of runs and right now you have to weather the storm and you will eventually get yourself back into it. Don’t try to do it instantly, just work yourself back one possession at a time.”
The Lady Tigers took the second quarter 9-4 with Abbey Kramer good for 4 points, Bailey Schmit 3 points and Maria Troutwine going 2-2 at the line sending the teams to the break with Mississinawa holding a 1 point 17-16 advantage.
Ansonia grabbed a 20-18 third quarter lead with 3:55 on the clock and would take the period 8-6 and take a 24-23 lead to the final quarter of play.
The teams played to a fourth quarter 31-31 at 5:10 before the Ansonia Lady Tigers would take advantage of a 16-4 scoring run to close out play to earn a double digit 47-35 victory.
“It was an exciting game,” said Davison. “Obviously two schools that know each other very well, the girls know each other, they are friends on and off the court – it was an exciting game to watch.”
Troutwine accounted for 11 fourth quarter Ansonia points including a 3-pointer and 4-4 at the charity stripe. Bailey Schmit added 6 Lady Tigers’ points including a triple.’
Coach Davison took time to weigh in on the OHSAA varsity referees covering the game.
“They did a nice job,” Davison stated. “They were a mature group to work with. You could communicate with them as a coach and I appreciate what they do because without them – they are a key part of the game too. I shared with the girls, no one is going to play a perfect game, the officials are going to make a mistake, coaches are going to make a mistake and you will make mistakes – just always think next play.”
Mariah Troutwine led Ansonia and all scorers with a game high 18 points.
BOXSCORE:
ANSONIA 47, MISSISSINAWA VALLEY 35
ANSONIA – M. Troutwine 18, Bailey Schmit 15, A. Kramer 4, M. Buckingham 4, L. Burns 2, K. Reichert 2, Brenna Schmit 2 – TOTALS 12 14-24 3 47
MISSISSINAWA VALLEY – M. Hiestand 10, T. Stachler 9, Jocelyn Hoggatt 6, M. Townsend 4, L. Scholl 3, E. Reichard 2, B. Price 1 – TOTALS 9 5-15 4 35
3-POINTERS:
Ansonia 3 (M. Troutwine 2, Bailey Schmit 1)
Mississinawa Valley 4 (T. Stachler 2, L. Scholl 1, M. Hiestand 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS:
07-09-08-23 47 Ansonia
12-05-06-12 35 Mississinawa Valley