Van Wert comes up short against Bath

PAULDING — The young Van Wert Lady Cougars battled hard, but lost to the Bath Wildkittens 41-36 in their Division II district semifinal game Thursday night at Paulding High School.

Bath outscored the Lady Cougars 8-0 in the first quarter, but went on a 15-6 run in the second quarter to lead by a point, 15-14, at the half. The Wildkittens rallied in the third quarter, outscoring Van Wert 14-7 to go up by six, 28-22, but the Cougars wouldn’t quit, outscoring Bath 14-13 in the final stanza, but couldn’t come up with enough offense to win the game.

Although the loss was disappointing for Van Wert, it was definitely a better result than the 59-25 whipping the Wildkittens administered when the two teams met in league play during the regular season.

The Cougars were led by Erin Morrow’s 12 points, while Alexis Dowdy had 9 points, and Cheyenne Handy added 8 for Van Wert. Bath was led by Emily Ruhe’s 16 points, while Madison Dackin added 8 for the Wildkittens.

Bath, now 22-2, will play Celina (22-2) in the district finals, while a young Cougar team ends its season at 11-13.