By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Here are the scores and stats from the girls basketball games on Jan. 5 – 7.

Mississinawa Valley 92 (9-4, 6-1) vs Arcanum 76 (8-4, 4-2)

After a dominating first quarter by Mississinawa Valley, Arcanum fought to try and make it a game. The Lady Trojans scored 20+ points in the next three quarters.

Mississinawa Valley head coach Michael Paige said he knew his team would be in a battle for the second half as Arcanum and head coach Abbey Moore would keep on fighting.

“It didn’t seem like either team wanted to quit. I told them at halftime, ‘We have 53 at half, we’re not going to score 106.’ We need to play under control. We came out, the shots were still falling and they were still scoring as well,” Paige said.

The Lady Blackhawks got out to a big lead by getting turnovers with their press. The press also got the Arcanum defense off rhythm as they struggled early.

But, Arcanum came out with a new sense of urgency in the second quarter. They made a small run at the start and throughout the game made some more runs.

“I’m extremely proud of my girls for their character. We always talk about that excellence factor of playing with class, playing with dignity. When you’re in situations of adversity, that’s going to be when your true character shows,” Moore said. “When our backs was against the wall, not one of these girls gave up. Not one of these girls trembled.”

Mississinawa Valley led 76-53 heading into the fourth quarter. The offense for the Lady Blackhawks continued to give them some breathing room.

But late in the game after calling off the press, Paige had to bring it back. With 2:42 left in the game, Arcanum was only down 85-72. A few buckets would have gotten them to a single-digit deficit with time left.

Mississinawa Valley didn’t panic and they got a few buckets to seal the win. Paige said the team is still a few improvements away from playing their best game.

“The scary part for us, and this is what I keep telling people, is we didn’t play our best game. As good as we played, we gave up 76 points. Obviously there’s a lot more things that we can do to improve,” Paige said.

Junior Taylee Woodbury led the Lady Blackhawks with 22 points. Senior Brenna Price scored 19 points on 9 for 13 shooting and had 10 rebounds. Senior MacKenzea Townsend had 18 points on 8 for 11 shooting and 16 rebounds. Sophomore Paige Emrick had 11 points and senior Ingrid Ojeda had 10 points.

For Arcanum, senior Rylee Leeper had 18 points. Junior Brooke Anderson and sophomore Caroline Long each had 16 points. Junior Alexis Gibbons also reach double-digits with 11 points.

Mississinawa Valley will head to Twin Valley South for their next game on Jan. 11 for a 7:15 p.m. tip off. They will then host Mechanicsburg on Jan. 13 at 11 a.m.

Arcanum will host back to back games starting with National Trail on Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. and then will host Versailles on Jan. 13 at 2:15 p.m.

A full game recap can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Around the county:

Ansonia 28 (6-6, 3-4) vs Tri-Village 70 (11-1, 6-0)

After a big win at Arcanum, Tri-Village picks up another road win over Ansonia. The Lady Patriots held the Lady Tigers scoreless in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Sophomore Kynnedi Hager had a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Bella Black also had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Kenna Wilcox had 11 points off the bench. Senior Bailey Schmit led the Lady Tigers with 10 points. After a game at Fort Recovery, the Lady Tigers will be at Newton on Jan. 11 for a 7 p.m. tip off. Tri-Village will host Dixie on Jan. 11 at 7:15 p.m. and then take on Willard on Jan. 15 at 3 p.m. at Versailles High School.

Bradford 35 (1-10, 1-4) vs Franklin Monroe 46 (4-5, 4-2)

A second half surge led the Lady Jets over the Lady Railroaders on the road. It was a 20-20 tie at halftime before Franklin Monroe pulled away with the win. Sophomore Caydance Nichols led the Lady Jets with 14 points on 5 for 7 shooting. Junior Presley Cox had 13 points. For Bradford, sophomore Ryleigh Dotson led with 10 points. Freshman Vivian Harleman had nine points. After games against Milton Union and Fairlawn, Franklin Monroe will head to Tri-County North on Jan. 11 for a 6 p.m. tip off. Bradford will host Preble Shawnee on Jan. 11 at 7:15 p.m. and then go to National Trail on Jan. 13 at 11 a.m.

Greenville 27 (5-6, 2-6) at Piqua 25 (2-9, 1-8)

The Lady Wave held Piqua to four second half points to get the win. Greenville out-rebounded Piqua, 34-22, in the win. Free throws were the difference has Greenville hit seven of them while Piqua only made two. Greenville only shot 18% from the field. Freshman Megan Loudy led the team with seven points. Junior Avery Baumann and Megan Lind both had six points. After hosting Parkway, Greenville will head to Sidney on Jan. 10 for a 7:30 p.m. tip off. They will then host Tippecanoe on Jan. 13 at 11:45 a.m.

Versailles 48 (6-4, 3-1) vs Jackson Center 28 (8-4, 4-2)

The Lady Tigers got back to back homes wins after they defeated Fort Recovery on Jan. 4 and then defeated Jackson Center. The win gave head coach Tracy White her 100th win. Versailles held Jackson Center scoreless in the fourth quarter. Senior Jenna Dirksen led the team with 13 points and sophomore Katey Litten had 10 points. Versailles will head to Parkway next on Jan. 11 for a 7 p.m. tip off. They will then go to Arcanum on Jan. 13 for a 2:30 p.m. tip off and then host Bellefontaine on Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]