Carson Francis, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LOGAN — January 20.
That was the date of Circleville’s last loss — a 54-38 defeat at the hands of the Logan Elm Braves.
And you can bet your house on the fact that the Tigers have had that loss in the back of their minds ever since.
Circleville rolled eight straights wins into Saturday afternoon’s Division IV district final at Logan High School. The Tigers’ opponent? Logan Elm, for a third time this season.
After the two teams split during the regular season, the Tigers won the battle that mattered the most.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
With a chip on their shoulder, Circleville (21-4) pounced on the opportunity for revenge.
Junior Addison Edgington’s 24 points — 18 of which came in the second half — and 15 rebounds helped her team cruise past Logan Elm by a 53-37 final, clinching the program’s first district crown since 2020.
“The girls had a chip on their shoulder from that one [Circleville’s loss to Logan Elm in January]. That’s the last game that we lost, and that’s nine in a row that we’ve won,” Circleville head coach Josh Blakeman said. “That one meant a lot to them. You hate to lose a game, but I think losing that one helped us out because it gave us a little wake-up call. We’ve been getting better and better ever since, and I think we’re playing our best basketball right now.”
The Tigers drew first blood after a basket inside from Mallory McConnell. The sophomore then assisted Edgington before splashing a mid-range jumper at the 5:10 mark, forcing Logan Elm into a timeout. McConnell then found Edgington for another score to put Circleville out to an early 8-0 advantage.
Logan Elm (20-5) finally got on the board with consecutive baskets from Kiannah Ingram, making it 8-4 with 2:23 left.
But for the next seven minutes, and change, of game time, Circleville proceeded to impose its will.
After extending the lead to 11-4 at the end of the first, the Tigers continued to fire on all cylinders in the second. Edgington, McConnell and Maddie Blakeman all cashed in from inside the paint, and Kaylee West splashed a triple to build a 20-4 lead with 4:57 left in the half.
But with Logan Elm facing a mountain to climb, Circleville eased its foot off the gas.
And throughout the remainder of the first half, Ingram put the Braves on her back.
After Kimmy Petty knocked down a baseline floater with 3:54 left — giving Logan Elm its first points of the second quarter — Ingram went to work, scoring seven straight points to cut the deficit to 20-13. The senior would finish with 14 first half points as Logan Elm found itself trailing just 23-16 at the break.
PHOTOS: Images from Circleville’s district championship win over Logan Elm
Despite taking a counterpunch from Logan Elm, however, the Tigers didn’t panic.
“At halftime, I told them that we won the first quarter by seven, and we were still ahead by seven. We tied the second quarter, and I told them that we just took their best punch,” Blakeman said. “So we just have to win two quarters. That’s what we’ve been trying to preach to them. Let’s just win a quarter at a time. If you win a quarter at a time, it will take care of itself.”
Edgington had already put up a modest six points and eight rebounds throughout the first half, but she was hungry for more in the second.
After Logan Elm scored on the opening possession — a baseline jumper from Maleah Gardner — Edgington went to work in the post. Spearheading a seven-point quarter-win for the Tigers, she put up seven points of her own in the third, bringing her scoring total to 13 points and extending Circleville’s lead to 37-23.
Any wind that Logan Elm had in its sail was gone. Just like that.
While the Braves tried their best to climb back, Circleville had an answer at every turn.
Edgington posted another 11 points in the fourth to bring her total to 24 on the afternoon. Meanwhile, Blakeman and Brooklyn Cramer knocked down some important free throws down the stretch.
In the game’s closing minute, Circleville emptied its bench as time dwindled to zero, closing the book on a 53-37 victory to send the Tigers to the Sweet 16.
“[Edgington] is just a handful. She comes into practice every day to go to work, and she’s a great kid to be around on top of that,” Blakeman said. “She’s like a good running back. You can hold her down, but you’re going to get tired eventually. She just keeps at it. You don’t always see a lot of change in her face, but she’s a for-real competitor. She loves her team and she wants to keep playing.”
“This just speaks to the resilience of these kids. They come to work every day and we get work done,” Blakeman added. “They bought into what we’re doing, bought into each other, and good things are happening.”
Following Edgington’s 24-point, 15-rebound day was Cramer, who finished with 11 points. Blakeman also added nine points while grabbing another 10 boards and dishing out four assists.
The Braves were led in scoring by Ingram, who finished with 19 points. Gillian Savage was next in line with seven points, while Paylynn Wray added five points and snagged eight boards.
Logan Elm’s season comes to a close as it says goodbye to its three seniors: Ingram, Petty and Kennedy Groff.
Meanwhile, Circleville will advance to Tuesday’s Division IV regional semifinal against West Holmes, a 49-45 winner over Carrollton. That contest is slated for an 8 p.m. start at Zanesville High School.
“After we celebrate this win tonight, we get back to practice on Monday and we get refocused,” Circleville’s lone senior, Maddie Blakeman, said. “We just have to treat every opponent the same and we have to play our game. I think if we play our game, we’ll be great.”
“It’s just onto the next game. We’ll be ready to go play,” Josh Blakeman added. “Our league, sometimes people will see our scores and say it’s not very good, but this league is tough. It’s rugged every single night and these kids beat each other every single night. I think that helps a lot when you’re going to play these other teams.”
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