VW Lady Cougars stun Shawnee 57-48

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

LIMA — Sofi Houg and Kyra Welch each scored 16 points and Van Wert knocked Shawnee from the ranks of the undefeated with a 57-48 upset win at Shawnee High School on Thursday.

In addition, Carlee Young added 15 points for the Lady Cougars (10-8, 4-3 WBL), including six in the fourth quarter.

“I am so proud of each and every one of these girls,” an elated Van Wert head coach Hannah Philpot said. “They executed the game plan for four straight quarters. We have preached and preached this season to stay the course and they did just that.”

“This is a huge win for our program and definitely one of the biggest in my time,” Philpot added.

Shawnee (16-1, 6-1 WBL) led 15-10 after one quarter, with Zoe Best and Hailee Conrad each scoring four points, but Van Wert came alive in the second stanza, outscoring the hosts by an 18-8 margin, giving the Lady Cougars a 28-23 halftime lead. Welch hit two baskets and converted a pair of foul shots in the quarter, while Carlee Young scored five points from the floor and Houg added a trey and free throw.

“The second quarter was pivotal,” Philpot said. “We figured out how to break the press and had a few important defensive stops. It allowed us to go in with a lead, which definitely helped our confidence.”

The third quarter was a low scoring one, but Van Wert outscored Shawnee 9-5, with Welch adding four more points. The Lady Cougars led 37-28 at the end of the period, then scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to all but ice the game. In addition, Van Wert connected on 11-of-16 free throws in the final period and 21-of-30 in the game, compared to 4-of-11 by Shawnee.

Best led all scorers with 21 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter.

Van Wert is scheduled to travel to Bryan on Monday.

Box score

Van Wert 10 18 9 20 – 57
Shawnee 15 8 5 20 – 48

Van Wert: Carlee Young 4-5-15; Sayler Wise 1-2-5; Kyra Welch 6-4-16; Sofi Houg 3-9-16; Emilee Phillips 1-0-2; Maria Bagley 1-0-2; Erin Schaufelberger 0-1-1

Shawnee: Zoe Best 9-3-21; Hailee Conrad 4-0-8; Grace Freiberger 1-1-3; Tessa Stahler 2-0-4; Cecelia Worsham 3-0-6; Kelly Cooper 1-0-2; Ania Pearson 2-0-4