By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Here are the scores and stats from the high school basketball games from Feb. 5 – 7.

Feb. 5 Girls Basketball: Bradford 39 (4-16, 3-7) vs Bethel 50 (3-18, 1-12)

The Lady Railroaders lost in a close, physical game to the Lady Bees. Head coach Josh Siedling said throughout the game, the team shrugged off their mistakes and kept fighting.

“I’m extremely proud of all the girls. They fought hard, even through adversity or whatever it may be. If shots aren’t falling early, we still battle and try to get back into it,” Siedling said. “Ran out of steam a little bit towards the end. But, nothing that we should be ashamed of.”

Sophomore Ryleigh Dotson and freshman Lilly Canan provided the spark for the Bradford offense. They combined for nine threes made in the game. Siedling said while it took awhile for them to get going, both displayed their shooting skills.

Dotson drained two threes in the final minute of the first half to cut into Bethel’s lead. Bradford was down 22-15 at halftime.

The offense was able to get through the Bethel press and didn’t crack under the defensive pressure. Siedling said after the team went up against the Tri-Village and Mississinawa Valley press, they started to gain confidence they can get through most team’s press.

After both teams made a run, Bethel still held onto the lead. A few mistakes in the fourth quarter from Bradford gave Bethel all they needed to seal the game and extend their lead.

Bradford was without their leading scorer, freshman Vivian Harleman. Siedling said while it was tough having Harleman out, everyone on the team is capable of stepping up offensively.

“They’re seeing that five, six or seven of them, whoever they may be, can step in. I give everybody the green light. It’s not that only you’re a shooter or only you’re a shooter. If you’re open, that’s a shot we want,” Siedling said.

Canan finished with 15 points and Dotson finished with 12 points. Senior Brooklyn Crickmore had 13 rebounds in the game.

After they finish the regular season at Dixie, Bradford will await the winner of the 16th seed Riverside vs the fifth seed Mississinawa Valley in the Division IV OHSAA girls basketball Southwest sectional. The Lady Railroaders are the 19th seed and will play on Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Versailles.

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

Feb. 6 Boys Basketball: Tri-Village 85 (17-1, 9-0) vs National Trail 39 (8-11, 4-5)

The Patriots overcame a slow first half to dominate in the second half against the Blazers. Head coach Josh Sagester said missing some early shots could have affected their defensive intensity in the first half. But, the team came out of halftime looking like a brand new team.

“I thought we played a pretty darn good second half. It’s a Tuesday night, it’s one of those things. Our kids got to be ready to play when they step on the floor,” Sagester said. “We had a good chat at halftime and they were able to respond well.”

After being down in the first quarter, National Trail came out in the second quarter and got the lead. Both teams exchanged leads for awhile before Tri-Village found their footing.

They started to get more shots to fall in and led 34-23 at halftime. Sagester said they have shot makers on the team, they just couldn’t get going early in this game.

Then the defense helped jump start the offense in the second half. Tri-Village opened the third quarter on a 20-2 run. The defense was able to get some turnovers with their full court pressure and scored in transition.

With that jolt of energy, the shots started to fall in more consistently in the second half. After scoring 34 points in the first half, the Patriots scored 34 points in the third quarter alone.

They carried that momentum into the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Sophomore Trey Sagester led the team with 26 points and five made threes. Senior Braden Keating had 16 points and senior Reed Wehr had 11 points. As a team, they forced 22 turnovers.

After a game at Twin Valley South, the Patriots will take on Ponitz on Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. The game against Twin Valley South will be the last game that counts towards Tri-Village’s seed in the RPI rankings. They are currently first in Division III in their sectional.

Sagester said they just need to take care of business to control their destiny before they can focus on the next game.

“If we’re able to take care of our own business, then we’ll be in the drivers seat as the one seed and get to make the decision. It’s always nice come tournament time when you get to make your own decisions and people aren’t making those for you,” Sagester said. “We’ve been beneficiaries of that several times here in this program. I’m looking forward to it, there’s some really good teams in our sectional. Take it one at a time.”

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

Feb. 7 Girls Basketball: Tri-Village 44 (17-3, 10-0) at Butler 33 (16-5, 14-3)

The Lady Patriots won a tough game on the road against one of the top MVL teams. Head coach Brad Gray said after Butler came out swinging, his team was able to respond well and locked in defensively.

“I’m proud of our kids, they kind of stuck with it. I thought defensively, the second half, we were outstanding,” Gray said. “The way our kids responded defensively in the second half, we have to be able to do that. We’ve been talking to our kids about how important it is that we really buy in to the defensive end of the floor.”

After Butler led in the first quarter, Tri-Village went on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter to tie the game. The game went back and forth before Butler senior Natalie Schoenherr hit a three at the buzzer to give the Lady Aviators a 25-22 lead at halftime.

Then both teams exchanged runs in the third quarter. Tri-Village went on a run to get the lead. Then Butler went on a run to tie the game.

The Lady Patriots led 32-29 after the third quarter. From that point, the defense stepped up big. They held Butler to four points in the fourth quarter.

Gray said sophomore Adalynn Hines is one of their better athletes who has a knack for knowing where the ball is going to go and make a play on it.

Offensively, senior Kiersten Wilcox made a few big shots for them. Gary said when she’s open, Wilcox is an efficient shooter who will make those shots when needed.

He also said the team did a better job letting sophomore Kynnedi Hager run the offense. With the ball in the post, she is able to find the open shooter or find the space needed to get to the rim.

Foul shots also helped the Lady Patriots. They were 7 for 9 from the line in the fourth quarter and 11 for 14 overall in the game.

Gray said it works to their advantage when they can get to the line often. The team is able to close out games with their free throw shooting.

“Once we got that lead, they had to come after us a little more aggressively. We shoot free throws well. We’re over 70% for the year as a team. We expect when we get to the line, it’s going to be good for us. I would like to see us get there a little more,” Gray said.

Hager led with 12 points and sophomore Tai Mize had 10 points.

After a home game against Twin Valley South, the Lady Patriots will host Bellbrook on Feb. 10 at 2:15 p.m. Then they will enter postseason play as the two seed in the Division IV OHSAA Girls Basketball Southwest Sectional. They will face the 18th seed National Trail on Feb. 17 at 11 a.m. at Versailles.

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

Around the county:

Boys Basketball: Ansonia 53 (4-15, 2-7) vs Sidney Lehman 74 (15-4, 8-4)

The Tigers couldn’t over come a second quarter deficit as they fell to Sidney Lehman. They were outscored 23-9 in the second quarter. Senior Matt Barga led with 22 points. Senior Trevor Hemmerich had 12 point and freshman Bennett Lehman had nine points. After a road game at Franklin Monroe, Ansonia will host Fairlawn on Feb. 10 at 7:15 p.m.

Girls Basketball: Arcanum 42 (13-7, 8-2) at Northmont 48 (7-14, 1-12)

The Lady Trojans fall on the road to a Division I school in Northmont. Arcanum held Northmont to 38.9% shooting. After a home game against Tri-County North, the Lady Trojans will host St. Henry on Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. They will then start postseason play in the Division III OHSAA Girls Basketball Southwest Sectional on Feb. 15. As the eighth seed, they will play the ninth seed Madison at 6 p.m. at Covington.

Girls Basketball: Franklin Monroe 45 (7-13, 4-6) at Middletown Christian 63 (14-7, 6-2)

The Lady Jets lose in a high scoring game on the road. to the Lady Eagles. Franklin Monroe will end the regular season with a road WOAC game at Ansonia. They are the 17th seed in the Division IV OHSAA Girls Basketball Southwest Sectional. The Lady Jets will take on the third seed Covington on Feb. 17 at 12:30 p.m. at Sidney High School.

Girls Basketball: Mississinawa Valley 67 (16-4, 9-1) at Houston 28 (6-14, 3-8)

The Lady Blackhawks cruised through for a non-conference road win at Houston. After giving up 12 points in the first quarter, Mississinawa Valley didn’t allow double-digit points in a quarter the rest of the way. Junior Taylee Woodbury led with 18 points and senior Brenna Price had 16 points on 7 for 9 shooting. Sophomore Paige Emrick had 13 points off the bench. After a home game against Preble Shawnee, Mississinawa Valley will host Mechanicsburg on Feb. 12 at 7:15 p.m. They will then start postseason play as the fifth seed in the Division IV OHSAA Girls Basketball Southwest Sectional on Feb. 17 against the 16th seed Riverside. They will play on Feb. 17 at 12:30 p.m.

Boys Basketball: Versailles 53 (8-10, 3-4) vs Parkway 45 (11-7, 2-4)

The Tigers had a 30-23 lead at halftime and held on for the win. Senior A.J. Griesdorn led with 20 points. Senior Carson Heitkamp and 14 points and sophomore Drake Ahrens had 10 points. After a road game at New Knoxville, Versailles will be at Anna on Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. They will have a home game on Feb. 13 against Indian Lake at 7:30 p.m. for their last home game of the season.

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