Derrick Webb, Managing Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WAVERLY — Just eight seconds into Saturday’s contest, North Adams’ Jacee Davis gave her Green Devils a lead they’d never lose.
Davis’ 3-point field goal set the tone early, helping to pave the way for North Adams to make a return trip to a district championship game.
The early start, paired with an outstanding defensive effort, equaled a 53-38 win over New Lexington in a Division V district semifinal.
“I was worried about [New Lexington’s] quickness and keeping them out of the paint,” North Adams coach Rob Davis said. “They can shoot it pretty well when they drive and kick it. I thought we did a good job of limiting that for the most part.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Davis’ crew held the Panthers to just 14-of-49 shooting — 28.5 percent — while forcing 12 turnovers. They also out-rebounded New Lexington by a 29-21 margin, limiting their opponent’s second chance scoring opportunities.
“Coming into this game, we knew we had to just play our game,” NA’s Emma Pistole said. “We’re bigger than most other teams, so it wasn’t much different. We didn’t honestly watch that much film or talk about it that much. We just went over what we were going to do, the plays we were going to run and made sure we got them down so we didn’t have those moments where we forget.”
Following Jacee Davis’ 3 to start the day’s scoring, Pistole hit her first shot with 7:03 left in the first quarter for a 5-1 count. That advantage swelled to 11-3 after freshman Tenzlee Burns made her presence known with back-to-back buckets.
New Lexington’s Chloe Dick answered on the other end to stop the momentum and, with help from Elizabeth Ward, the Panthers actually closed the quarter on a 7-4 run, cutting the lead to 15-10.
But North Adams (19-5) never budged.
Davis and Elizabeth Raines each added scores for NA early in the second before Sophia Barlow scored to make it 25-12 at the 3:21 mark. Once again, Dick led a short scoring burst with three points to the end the half, but the hole had already been dug.
PHOTOS: Images from North Adams’ district semifinal win over New Lexington
The Panthers were able to erode the deficit back into single digits early in the third, thanks to a 3 from Makenzy McCoy, but Pistole added five points directly after for a 31-20 count.
Burns also chipped in, scoring twice in the final three minutes to send NA into the fourth with a 39-27 advantage.
“Just coming in as a freshman, and having a young team, just being able to help the older players out has felt amazing,” Burns said. “I just really love it.”
Pistole began the final eight minutes with a bucket for a 41-27 count, and Burns made it a 44-30 game with a 3 at the 6:03 mark. From that point on, not much changed as the Green Devils nailed down a season-extending victory with relative ease.
“I’m just happy for all of these girls,” Davis said. “I love all of them, even though sometimes they don’t think I do. We all have been battling sickness and we played through it. They came out, really played well and I’m just proud of all of them.”
Burns’ 19 points, three rebounds and three assists paced the Devils’ attack while Emma Pistole posted 17 points and six rebounds. Ava Pistole also chipped in with six points and nine boards.
The Panthers (15-9) were led by Dick, who ended the night with 13 points and four rebounds while Ward also added 13 points.
While New Lexington’s season comes to a close, North Adams advances to a Division V district championship game at noon, Saturday back at Waverly’s Downtown Gym.
The Green Devils will meet with Portsmouth, who is the defending state champion. The Trojans advanced with a 73-19 win over Adena.
“Three years ago, we played Portsmouth and we saw how it was,” Pistole said. “They haven’t really lost much, either. They’ve lost a few players but they were a young team then and they’re all still pretty much together. We know how good they are and that it’s going to take a lot of preparation. But if we play to the best of our ability, and play together, we can keep up with them.”
“If we can get on a roll here and get a third and a fourth scorer to step up at the same time, we have a chance to move on deep,” Davis added. “We’ve got our hands full with Portsmouth coming up next week, but that’s what you play for. They’re the defending state champions and if you want to get to that point, you have to beat the best. So we’ll see what happens.”
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