Cougar girls win thriller on Senior Night

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

It took two overtimes but Van Wert was able to notch one in the win column Monday night, which was also Senior Night at the The Den. The Cougars topped Lima Central Catholic 58-50 for the team’s first victory of the season.

The four seniors who enjoyed the win during the final home game of the year were Katie DeAmicis, Bella Behm, Karly Boyher and Allison Geib.

The game was tied 44-44 at the end of regulation and in the first overtime, Van Wert (1-19) scored on a basket each by Flannery Foster and Amaya Dowdy, and a pair of free throws by Jazz Florence. The game was tied 50-50 going into the second extra session but the Cougars outscored the Thunderbirds 8-0, including a pair of buckets by Jayda Watson and a basket each by Foster and Florence.

Van Wert led 7-3 after the first quarter and 22-10 at halftime, However, Van Wert had to survive a second half scoring surge by the visitors. Lima Central Catholic (3-19) enjoyed an 18-7 third quarter scoring advantage, including eight points by Carolina Kill and the Thunderbirds trailed by just one, 29-28, entering the fourth quarter. DeAmicis had two treys in the third quarter. She added five more points in the fourth quarter and Florence drained a pair of triples.

“I am very proud of my girls for fighting through LCC’s run in the second half,” Van Wert head coach Mike Dowdy said. “They didn’t fold under pressure and that helped them learn a lot about who they are as a team. Hopefully, this will fuel them in the next couple of games as we get ready for the tourney next week.” 

Florence led Van Wert with 19 points and DeAmicis had 13 points. Kill led all scorers with 23 points, including 16 in the second half.

Van Wert will travel to Shawnee Thursday night then will wrap up the regular season with a makeup game at Coldwater on Monday.

Van Wert’s junior varsity team also enjoyed a win, 15-10 in two quarters of action.

Box score

Cougars   7  15   7  15   6   8 – 58

T-Birds     3    7 18  16   6   0 – 50

Van Wert: Katie DeAmicis 4-2-13; Bella Behm 1-0-3; Jazz Florence 6-4-19; Jayda Watson 3-0-6; Karly Boyher 1-1-3; Natalie Kroeger 0-1-1; Amaya Dowdy 1-5-7; Flannery Foster 3-0-6

Lima Central Catholic: Alice Reif 2-0-5; Arionna Parrish 1-2-4; Carolina Kill 9-4-23; Tatum Marks 2-4-8; Corie Schnieders 3-4-10