Cougar girls top Lincolnview in OT

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A slow first half didn’t deter Van Wert, as the Cougars rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit then used overtime to defeat Lincolnview 47-42 Thursday night.

Lincolnview’s Ashlyn Price, Makayla Jackman and Emerson Walker each scored seven points in the first half and the Lancers used a smothering defense en route to a 25-14 halftime advantage.

“I was very pleased with the way our girls came to play to start the game,” Lincolnview head coach Kyle Williams said. “We were aggressive to start on both ends.”

Van Wert (7-4) trailed 25-14 at halftime but switched to a zone defense while chipping away and cutting the deficit to three, 27-24, nearly halfway through the third quarter before ending the period down five, 33-28. Kyra Welch, Sofi Houg and Erin Schaufelberger each scored four points in the third quarter.

Jackman accounted for all six of Lincolnview’s fourth quarter points, hitting an early trey and another with 1:40 left. However, Van Wert put together seven consecutive points between those treys, then later tied the game 39-39 on a layup by Houg with 10 seconds left.

“The girls stepped up big in the second half,” Van Wert head coach Hannah Phlipot said. “We made some halftime adjustments on defense which allowed us to get some stops and attack the basket offensively.”

“They came out in that zone and we just struggled against it in the second half,” Williams said.

In the overtime period, Van Wert scored the first six points, then after a Price trey, converted 2-of-4 free throws in the final 30 seconds to secure the win.

Welch led Van Wert with 17 points, including 15 in the second half. Houg scored 13 and Jordanne Blythe added 10 points off the bench. Van Wert was 18-of-45 from the floor (0-9 from three point range) and 11-of-27 from the foul line.

Jackman led Lincolnview (6-5) with 16 points, including three second half treys, while Price finished with 10 points. Lincolnview was 14-of-59 shooting and 9-of-14 from the free throw line. The Lancers had a slight rebounding advantage, 29-27, and each team had 13 turnovers.

“I thought we took care of the ball very well in the second half,” Phlipot said. “We shot 27 free throws but our percentage wasn’t great.”

“Our girls battled the entire game but we struggled in late game situations,” Williams said. “We turned the ball over too much late and had lots of miscommunication. I loved the energy our girls had but we just fell short against a very solid Van Wert team.”

Both teams will return to action Tuesday, with Van Wert hosting Bryan and Lincolnview traveling to Kalida.

Box score

Cougars 9 5 14 11 8 – 47
Lancers 11 14 8 6 3 – 42

Van Wert: Jordanne Blythe 3-4-10; Kyra Welch 6-4-17; Sofi Houg 5-3-13; Maria Bagley 2-0-4; Erin Schaufelberger 2-0-4

Lincolnview: Ashlyn Price 3-3-10; Makayla Jackman 4-5-16; Keira Breese 1-0-3; Emerson Walker 4-1-9; Carsyn Looser 2-0-4