John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CIRCLEVILLE — After leading by 14 points in the third quarter, the wheels almost completely fell off for Circleville on Wednesday.
Almost.
Athens started the fourth with a 15-1 run after having virtually luck on the offensive end throughout the first 24 minutes, and eventually took a lead.
But the combination of Maddie Blakeman, Brooklyn Cramer and an elite defensive effort were enough to hold on late for a 32-31 victory over the Bulldogs.
“It’s very important to us. We had a slow start to the season with a couple of changes that have been made,” Circleville coach Josh Blakeman said. “It is so important to us to get those gritty wins, because at the end of the day, it is still a win. We knew that they were going to come out and fight to the end, but we had to show that we wanted it more.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
In a matchup that featured two experienced teams that combined for 38 victories a year ago, offense was hard to come by.
After the score was tied at 4-4 after a quarter, Circleville (2-0) shut out the Bulldogs in the second, slowly extending its lead to 10-4 at the break as the teams combined to shoot only 5-for-35 in the opening 16 minutes of play.
With both teams playing elite defense and, clearly, shooting the ball poorly in the first half, it seemed as if the first team to make a run in the second half would be the clear winner.
But, that assumption was wrong as the Tigers jumped out to a 21-7 midway through the third behind the hard-driving of Blakeman and the outside shooting of Cramer.
“She’s the engine. She works hard at it and she’s just a dog,” Josh Blakeman said of Cramer. “She’s going to come out and play her hardest every single minute. As long as she’s changing pace and keeping the flow of the game going for us, we are going to be alright. Brooklyn is what is going to make us go this year.”
The Bulldogs (2-2) tried to chip away at the lead with Olivia Smart and Ella Chapman connecting from deep late in the quarter, but a basket from Mallory McConnell helped the Tigers stay out in front at 26-14 after three.
“Our goal is 10 points a quarter. We did great,” Josh Blakeman said. “Offensively, we have to be a lot better than that. We have a lot to work on, a lot of gelling to do. We have a lot of parts and pieces. We just have to have those parts and pieces stuck together.”
That’s when the fun started to pick up.
Athens started the fourth with an inside score from Brystol Stump before Smart connected on a midrange jumper to cut the deficit to eight.
A steal for the Bulldogs led to Chapman finding Quinn Banks with her feet set on the left side of the 3-point line, where the senior dialed it up with 5:09 to play, cutting Circleville’s lead to 26-21.
PHOTOS: Images from Circleville’s win over Athens
After Addison Edgington split a pair of free throws on the other end, Banks knocked down a jumper with 4:30 to play, slicing into the deficit once again. After picking up one more stop, Chapman found a cutting Lex Koopal in the lane and the junior finished the layup with 3:48 to make it 27-25.
Smart buried a 15-footer from the elbow to tie the game and Athens collected a rebound on the defensive end before pushing the ball up court. That’s where Smart found Banks inside and the senior scored to give her team a 29-27 lead.
However, the Tigers weren’t done yet.
On the ensuing possession, Cramer drove to the basket and scored to tie the game with 2:05 to play. Circleville’s Julianna Sims-Ross deflected a pass on the next Athens possession, which Maddie Blakeman scooped up and beat the defense for a go-ahead score with 1:30 to play.
“I just come in every game with a cool, calm and collected mindset,” Maddie Blakeman said. “I never know what kind of night it is going to be. Tonight, I happened to be finishing around the rim. I come in with a mindset that I’m going to work my butt off and I’m going to play 100 percent each and every night.”
Athens had multiple good looks at the basket in the last minute, but McConnell was finally able to secure the biggest board of the night, leading to Blakeman splitting a pair at the line with 48 seconds to play.
“Mal does all of the little things that don’t always get talked about,” Josh Blakeman said. “No one is going to outwork her ever. She doesn’t care if any one notices it or not. Mal is absolutely a coach’s dream.”
The Tigers’ swarming defense didn’t allow Athens to get a quality look at the basket on its final possession. However, they were whistled for a foul on a 3-point attempt with less than two seconds to play.
After making the first two free throws, Athens rattled the final shot in and out, before Blakeman grabbed the board and set off a relieved celebration for the Tigers.
Blakeman led all scorers with 15 points and also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. Cramer added nine points, while McConnell grabbed nine boards for the Tigers.
Athens was led by Banks with nine points, all in the final 5:09 of play, while Smart and Stump also contributed seven points to the books. Koopal was huge on the glass all night long, collecting 16 rebounds.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday. Circleville hosts Hamilton Township in MSL action while Athens travels to River Valley for TVC play.
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