Carroll 61, Kenton Ridge 51:
Tippecanoe NEW CARLISLE — earned a narrow regular-season win over Trotwood-Madison and knew a rematch in a Division II sectional final on Saturday would be difficult.
But the Red Devils worked against Trotwood’s defensive pressure and got going in the second half. A big scoring run in the third quarter helped jump-start a 50-43 win for Tippecanoe, which earned a spot in the district finals Friday at Mason.
Tipp beat Trotwood 35-32 in a GWOC crossover game on Jan. 21, and Tippecanoe coach Andy Holderman said the team knew it would be a defensive struggle Saturday.
“Everybody makes adjustments when you play a second time, and with the way they play defense and rebound the basketball, we knew it’d be key to match that,” Holderman said.
Tippecanoe took control with a 9-0 run in the third quarter. Trotwood led 24-21 early in the third, but Taylor Prall hit a 3-pointer with 4:50 left to tie and Alison Mader followed 30 seconds later with her only field goal to give Tipp the lead. Cali Stewart then hit back-to-back baskets with about two minutes left to cap the run and increase the lead to 30-24.
“They were trying to speed us up, so I told the girls at halftime that we needed to slow down and make smart shots,” Holderman said. “We have three or four options within the offense depending on what a player can and can’t do, and we tend to get stuck on the first option. So we told them to look for the third or fourth option.”
Stewart added another two baskets in the final two minutes of the quarter to help boost the lead to 36-26. The Rams got as close as six points in the fourth quarter, but Tippecanoe buckled down on defense and prevented it from getting closer.
Stewart led Tippecanoe with 19 points and five rebounds. The Red Devils (223) advance to the districts for the fourth consecutive season and will face Bellbrook. Bellbrook’s entire team was on hand to watch Tippecanoe’s win on Saturday.
Trotwood finishes the season with a 19-6 record.
Carroll overcame a third-quarter deficit and fended off a comeback in the final minutes to earn a 61-51 win over Kenton Ridge in the second sectional final at Tecumseh.
Kenton Ridge took the lead late in the third quarter, but Amanda Schroeder hit two free throws with 2.3 seconds left to give Carroll a 45-43 lead. Schroeder, who led the Patriots with 25 points and eight rebounds, hit two key late baskets to help extend the lead to double digits.
Carroll (21-4) will face Mariemont on Friday at Mason in a district final. Kenton Ridge had won seven consecutive sectional titles before Saturday and finishes with a 16-9 record.
Xenia High School senior Hank Siefert capped his high school swimming career with a pair of third-place finishes in the Division I state meet.
Siefert, a University of Kentucky recruit, finished third in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events Saturday at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton.
Siefert clocked a time of 1 minute, 38.17 seconds in the 200 free and 4:29.04 in the 500 free. St. Xavier senior Grant House won both events in Division I state record times of 1:34.59 and 4:19.15.
Springboro senior Zach Baecker placed fourth in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. The Panthers finished seventh in the 200 medley relay.
Centerville senior Nora Fullenkamp, also a Kentucky recruit, was the top area girls’ placer Saturday. Fullenkamp finished fourth in the 100 free and tied for fifth in the 50 free.
Teammate Nicola Lane, a freshman, placed fifth in the 500 free and the Elks’ 200 medley relay foursome placed seventh.
Springboro senior Sally Clough, a Texas Christian University recruit, finished fifth in the 200 free.
In the boys diving competition, Centerville’s Austin Flaute finished fourth and teammate Sam Wiedemann placed eighth.