VW falls to Bath in D-II sectional finals

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

SPENCERVILLE — Just nine days after giving up 61 points to Bath in the regular season finale, Van Wert’s defense held the second seeded Wildkittens to just 38 points, but the Lady Cougars struggled offensively in a 38-28 Division II sectional championship loss at Spencerville High School on Saturday.

Bath made just one of 10 shots to start the game and Van Wert led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter, with Jamison Clouse scoring four of her team high 10 points with a basket and a pair of free throws.

“It was a great first quarter,” Van Wert head coach Hannah Phlipot said. “The girls came out energetic and executed our game plan perfectly.”

Bath was able to recover in the second quarter by connecting on three triples to help grab a 21-12 halftime lead, including two by Chandler Clark, who went on to finish with a game high 15 points. Van Wert’s only points of the quarter came on a trey by Sofi Houg.

“Turnovers hurt us in the second quarter and Bath knocked down a couple of threes,” Phlipot explained. “They gained the momentum and kept it the remainder of the game.”

Van Wert had 18 turnovers in the game and shot 31 percent (9-29), while Bath hit 32 percent from the floor.

Esther Bolen scored six of Bath’s eight third quarter points, but Van Wert was held to just five in the period, with three of those coming on foul shots by Clouse and Caylee Phillips and the Wildkittens led 29-17 entering the final period.

Despite the loss, Phlipot saw some positive things in the game and as the season progressed.

“We saw a lot of progress as the season went along,” Phlipot said. We consistently had 5-7 girls scoring each night, which is what we need to do to win games.”

“Our offseason priority is to continue to better our skill set,” Phlipot added. “We need to focus on becoming a better and more consistent shooting team.”

Scoring summary

Bath 6 15 8 9 – 38
VW 6 3 5 11 – 28

Bath: Abbie Dackin 1-0-2; Ja’Dasia Hardison 2-0-5; Esther Bolen 3-1-8; Chandler Clark 6-1-15; Ruby Bolen 2-0-4

Van Wert: Kyra Welch 1-0-2; Carly Smith 1-0-2; Jamison Clouse 2-6-10; Jaylyn Rickard 1-0-3; Caylee Phillips 1-1-4; Sofi Houg 2-0-5; Allison Schaufelberger 1-0-2