SOSA Staff Report
SOUTHEASTERN 47, ZANE TRACE 27
JACKSON — While it usually gets its scoring contributions from the trio of Skylar Hice, Cidney Huff and Macie Graves, Southeastern leaned on a different name Wednesday night to provide a spark.
In a Division III sectional semifinal at Jackson, SE’s Sierra Mitten came ready and willing to terrorize Zane Trace’s defense.
Mitten’s 11 points, three steals and two 3-point field goals was exactly what the Panthers (19-4) needed in a 47-27 win over the Pioneers.
“Sierra has been solid all year,” Southeastern coach Doug Hice said. “She just plays with three girls who are better than her right now, as far as shooting the basketball. But she’s got us in our offenses all year. She was lights out tonight with her defensive play and she knocked down some big shots.”
Before Mitten began making a difference, Zane Trace (3-20) was able to create turnovers, hit shots of its own on the other end, and take a lead.
Behind two triples from Lauren Lane, the Pioneers had a 6-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.
But in the second, thanks to a switch in defensive schemes, the Panthers finally started to find their rhythm. Mitten dialed long distance with 7:31 left in the third before repeating that process at the 7:01 mark, putting SE ahead 13-7 and ending a 9-1 run.
Emily Allen then scored before Lane hit another trey, cutting the lead to 13-12. But Huff later answered with a 3 of her own to make it an 18-14 ballgame at halftime.
“That’s probably the coach’s fault. We started out in a zone, which slows everything down,” Hice said. “It slowed us down too much. We were just stagnant on the offensive end. Once we started going man-to-man, we loosened up a little bit. When Cidney and Macie starts knocking down shots, its helps everything. That stretches the defense.”
In the third, the Panthers really pulled away.
Outscoring Zane Trace 16-4, behind Graves and Hice, the Panthers took a 34-19 lead into the fourth and cruised to a win from there.
Hice ended the night with a game-high 14 points alongside seven rebounds while Mitten and Huff each had 11 points. Graves added nine points as well.
For Zane Trace, Lane posted 12 points while Allen had nine points and nine boards.
While the Pioneers see their season end, the Panthers advance to play Fairland in a Division III sectional final at 2:45 p.m., Saturday at Jackson.
“We’re going to have play 32 minutes of solid basketball,” Hice said. “It doesn’t matter who we play. That’s the key to surviving in the tournament.”
BOX SCORE
Zane Trace: 6-8-4-9 — 27
Southeastern: 4-14-16-13 — 47
Zane Trace: 9-25 FG, 9-10 FT, 4-7 3pt., 20 rebounds (Allen 9), 24 turnovers, 3 assists (McCullough 2). Scoring: Lane 12, Allen 9, McCullough 4, May 2.
Southeastern: 16-36 FG, 7-10 FT, 8-17 3pt., 21 rebounds (Hice 7), 14 turnovers, 6 assists (Huff 2, Graves 2). Scoring: Hice 14, Mitten 11, Huff 11, Graves 9, Skeens 2.
FAIRLAND 53, WEST 48
JACKSON — For the better part of three quarters Wednesday, West looked like it was going to upset Fairland and advance.
However, the Dragons (13-10) pieced together a furious second half rally to halt any sort of upset attempt, beating the Senators (10-12) by a five-point margin.
After entering halftime trailing 27-18, the Dragons relied on both Harlie Lyons and Jenna Stone to lead the charge over the final two quarters.
Lyons and Stone helped Fairland outscore West by a 22-10 margin in the fourth quarter alone. Both players ended the night with 17 points while Stone added five assists to the mix. Tomi Hinkle also helped out, scoring nine points and grabbing four rebounds.
For West, Charlie Jo Howard had a team-high 17 points alongside six rebounds. Morgan Rigsby had five points and 13 boards, and Abbi Pack scored 14 points.
BOX SCORE
West: 14-13-11-10 — 48
Fairland: 12-6-13-22 — 47
West: 13-31 FG, 16-31 FT, 3-7 3pt., 33 rebounds (Rigsby 13), 18 turnovers, 6 assists (Rigsby 4). Scoring: Howard 17, Pack 14, Adkins 6, Rigsby 5, Cline 5, Coleman 1.
Fairland: 14-53 FG, 14-24 FT, 10-31 3pt., 29 rebounds (Howard 7), 15 turnovers, 11 assists (Stone 5). Scoring: Lyons 17, Stone 17, Hinkle 9, Boland 5, Marshall 4, Howard 1.
NEW LEXINGTON 62, MINFORD 53
LUCASVILLE — The Falcons (9-13) ended their season on Wednesday with a nine-point loss to Lexington — Minford does have one conference game remaining.
Leading the way for Minford statistically was Maddie Slusher with 22 points and six rebounds while Livi Shonkwiler added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. Hannah Tolle also helped out, posting 10 points and four rebounds.
New Lexington was paced by Aubri Spicer, who had 25 points and seven boards.
BOX SCORE
Minford: 12-18-7-16 — 53
New Lexington: 13-13-14-22 — 62
Minford: 18 FG, 10-13 FT, 7 3pt. Scoring: Slusher 22, Shonkwiler 11, Tolle 10, Mougey 8, Watters 2.
New Lexington: 23 FG, 11-15 FT, 5 3pt. Scoring: Spicer 25, Kellogg 15, Skillman 6, Abrams 6, Harris 4, Dillon 3, Stephens 3.
WESTFALL 40, PIKETON 27
PIKETON — The Mustangs put an end to their regular season with a double-digit win over Piketon on Wednesday.
Leading Westfall (10-12, 8-6 SVC) to the win was Gabby Patete with 13 points. Mahaley Farmer also helped, scoring 11 points, while Marissa Mullins had five blocks.
Piketon (8-15, 4-10 SVC) ends its season with the loss.