Napoleon ends Lady Cougs’ tourney run

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

HICKSVILLE — The Van Wert girls’ basketball team had its best season ever this year, with an 18-4 regular season record, but that didn’t help the Lady Cougars in sectional tournament, as they again struggled against Napoleon, losing this time 29-26 to the Lady Wildcats in Division II tournament action on Saturday.

With the loss, Van Wert’s season ends at 18-5, while the Lady ‘Cats advance in tournament play with an 8-15 overall record.

Free throws were the key to the loss, as Napoleon hit 12 of 17, with many of those coming in the final stanza, while the Cougars were 7 of 19 from the line.

The Wildcats took a four-point lead, 8-4, in the first quarter, but Van Wert went on a 11-10 run to cut the lead to three points, 18-15, at the half. Neither team could find the basket in the third quarter, with both teams scoring just two points in the quarter, giving Napoleon a 20-17 lead over the Cougars.

The fourth quarter was another defensive battle with Van Wert getting as close as one point, but the Cougars could never quite get over the hump, offensively, to take control of the game.

Van Wert was led by Alexis Dowdy, who returned to the lineup after being out three weeks with an injury. Dowdy had 12 points, while Cheyenne Handy added 8 points for the Cougars. Top scorer Erin Morrow was pretty much shut out, scoring just 2 points in the game.

Napoleon was led by Alexa Sonnenberg, the only Wildcat in double figures with 10 points.

Van Wert had only four players in the scoring column, while six Wildcat players put points on the scoreboard.

The Cougars were colder than the weather, hitting just 9 of 34 field goal attempts (26.5 percent), while Napoleon made 7 of 23 from the field (30.4 percent). Van Wert wasn’t much better from the free-throw line, hitting just 7 of 19 (36.8 percent), while the Lady Wildcats were 12 of 17 from the line (70.6 percent).

The Cougars were also outmuscled under the basket, with Napoleon bringing down 23 rebounds to 18 for Van Wert. The Cougars had fewer turnovers, though, 10 to 17, than Napoleon.