Area MAC teams capture sectional titles
LIMA — New Bremen began its postseason Saturday, and made sure it will continue.
The Lady Cardinals defeated Ada 45-32 in a Division IV sectional final on Saturday evening.
The teams were even through the first period. New Bremen then took control in the second and kept ahead the rest of the way.
“This was a team effort in a lot of different areas,” said New Bremen coach Andy Timmerman.
After taking the lead, New Bremen showed patience, especially in the second half.
“We didn’t want to force a lot of shots,” said Timmerman. He added that the team did a good job of rebounding at both ends of the court.
Chloe Homan had 17 points, Marina Nelson 13 and Ella Pape 11 for the Lady Cards.
They are now 11-12 on the year, and will face Marion Local in a district semifinal on Thursday at Wapakoneta.
Ada was led by Courtney Summer with 13 points.
The teams exchanged points for the first few possessions, then Ada went on a 10-2 run, getting a basket by Katie Sizemore, three by Summer, and one by Autumn Andreasen. That put the Lady Bulldogs ahead 12-6.
Homan got a basket and free throw combination with a couple minutes left. As the final seconds ticked off, Nelson hit from 3-point range to tie it.
New Bremen carried that momentum over to the second period, scoring nine points, and holding Ada off the board until a basket by Sizemore with 2:40 to go in the half.
Two free throws by Pape, then a steal of an inbounds pass and score by Nelson boosted the lead to 25-14.
After a free throw by Ada, Nelson hit another trey for the Cards. Ada bounced back with a couple of free throws by Olivia Burkhart and a bank shot from long range by Summer. That cut the lead to 28-20 at the half.
Homan connected three times in the third, along with a score by Abi Powers and another three from Nelson. Ada was held to a couple of scores, as New Bremen was up 39-27 after three.
New Bremen worked the ball around in the fourth. They did get back to back threes from Pape, and again denied Ada any shots from the floor until late in the contest.
Summers did set the career scoring record for Ada with a free throw in the third period.
Score by quarters Ada 12 8 7 5 -- 32 New Bremen A DA (32)
Mariah King 1-0-0-0-2; Courtney Summer 4-1-2-413; Olivia Burkhart 1-0-34-5; Lexi Poling 0-0-0-0-0; Autumn Aundreasen 3-00-0-6; Katie Sizemore 3-00-0-6; Anna Conley 0-0-00-0; TOTALS 12-1-5-8-32.
NEW BREMEN (45) Marina Nelson 2-3-0-013; Mia Hirschfeld 0-0-00-0; Abi Powers 1-0-0-0-2; Mary Rindler 1-0-0-0-2; Ella Pape 0-3-2-2-11; Allison Hays 0-0-0-2-0; Chloe Homan 6-0-5-5-17; TOTALS 10-6-7-9-45. ———
Marion Local 44, New Knoxville 14
LIMA — Marion Local eliminated the Lady Rangers in the first game of the doubleheader at Shawnee on Saturday.
Marion Local moves to 20-4 on the season and will face New Bremen on Thursday night.
Lady Flyers coach Beth Streib said that the team got off to a slow start, but the defense was able to be more aggressive.
New Knoxville closes out the season at 1-22. The win came over WaynesfieldGoshen in the middle of the year.
Alivia Koenig finished her first season with New Knoxville. “We definitely got better throughout the the year,” she said. “We worked hard and started to click.”
The team has just one senior, Ally Topp, so the rest of the team can build on experience.
After a free throw by Marion Local’s Lindsey Koenig, Addi Albers scored to give the Rangers a brief 2-1 lead.
Marion Local hit four more shots over the rest of the first quarter and led 9-2.
New Knoxville got a free throw by Topp at the start of the second. Marion Local then went on a 10-0 run to lead 19-3 halfway through the frame.
They added a couple more scores and were up 24-3 at intermission.
The dominance continued in the third, with Koenig and Chloe Ronnebaum each scoring six points.
Brynn Egbert of New Knoxville left the game with an injury, leaving the Lady Rangers with no one on the bench. She did eventually return to action.
New Knoxville got scores by Lauren Wingler and Egbert in the period.
The Lady Rangers got five points by Topp and two by Albers in the fourth. Marion Local did not score, content to drain the time when they had possession.
Score by quarters New Knoxville 2 1
4 7 -- 14
Marion Local 9 15 20 0 -- 44
NEW KNOXVILLE (14) Taylor Klopfenstein 0-00-0-0; Keianna Wellman 0-0-0-0-0; Brynn Egbert 1-0-0-0-2; Addi Albers 2-00-1-4; Lauren Wingler 1-00-0-2; Ally Topp 2-0-2-5-6; TOTALS 6-0-2-6-14.
MARION LOCAL (44) Jenna Knapke 0-1-0-03; Avae Unrast 2-0-0-0-4; Stella Huelsman 3-0-1-2-7; Nora Eckstein 0-0-0-0-0; Natalie Evers 0-0-0-0-0; Audrey Winner 0-1-0-0-3; Rachel Kuether 0-0-0-0-0; Chloe Ronnebaum 5-0-00-10; Lindsey Koenig 4-01-2-9; Allison Everman 0-0-0-0-0; Allison Dirksen 0-0-2-2-2; Brooke Wilker 0-0-0-2-0; Kaylee Wilker 0-0-0-0-0; Brooke Evers 0-0-0-0-0; Hanna Rose 2-0-2-2-6; TOTALS 16-06-10-44.
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Minster 77, WaynesfieldGoshen 18
SPENCERVILLE — The Lady Wildcats made plenty of long distance connections.
Minster rolled past Waynesfield-Goshen in a Division IV sectional final on Saturday afternoon.
They scored the game’s first 19 points and were in full command from wire to wire.
They also set a school record for 3-pointers, hitting 13 from beyond the arc. The previous mark of 11 was set in the 2020-21 season aginast St. John’s.
Kaycie Albers had four 3-pointers, while Lyndi Hemmelgarn and Katie McClurg hit three apiece. Chloe Thien, Lydia Mescher and Morgan Sparks each splashed one.
Minster’s entire roster saw action during the game, with all but three players contributing to the total.
For Waynesfield-Goshen, Zaria DeLeon and Raegan Hutchison had six points each, and Tatelyn Faraglia scored five. Taylor Spencer had a free throw as well. The Lady Tigers finish the year at 10-14.
Lady Tigers coach Jocelyn Hennon said “They shot the lights out. We knew it would be a tough game.” She noted that the goal was to keep Minster out of the paint, which they did, but the 3-point shooting was too much to overcome.
She praised the team’s five seniors — Kyra Sutherland, Kennedy Bigelow, DeLeon, Spencer, and Peyton Webb — as good leaders who helped create a good culture during their careers. She noted that there are several underclassmen and a big 8th grade group for the program.
Minster coach Mike Wiss said he was happiest “with how we shared the ball. They made the extra pass. It’s hard to guard people when you share the ball like that.”
The Lady Wildcats are now 13-10 on the season. They face St. Henry Thursday at Wapakoneta in the second half of a doubleheader.
On Saturday, two baskets by Lilly Bahorst and one by Sparks got things started.
After a W-G timeout, MInster’s barrage started with a pair by Albers. They would hit three more, plus more points by Barhorst, with W-G calling a couple more timeouts to try and halt the momentum.
A putback by DeLeon with 2:20 to go was WG’s first score of the game. They would get another by Hutschison and Spencer’s free throw, but were down 25-5 after one.
The second period was not much different, with the Lady Wildcats hanging another 27 points, with two 3s each by Albers and Hemmelgarn. Faraglia made WG’s only 3-point shot of the contest with a few minutes left in the half.
The back-to-back scores by Hemmelgarn made it a 50-10 lead, and Kayla Lamm added one more basket before the break.
The third and fourth periods were played with a running clock. Minster scored 10 points, with a basket by Hutchison in the final seconds to avoid the Tigers being shut out in the third. The record-breaking 3-pointer came from Hemmelgarn, with Thien adding one more good measure in the final stages.
Score by quarters Waynesfield-Goshen 5 5 2 6 -- 18
Minster 25 27 10 15
-- 77
WAYNESFIELD-GOSHEN (18)
Kyra Sutherland 0-0-00-0; Liberty Glaser 0-00-0-0; Kennedy Bigelow 0-0-0-0-0; Zaria DeLeon 3-0-0-0-6; Tatelyn Faraglia 1-1-0-0-5; Taylor Spencer 0-0-1-6-1; Cassidy Bigelow 0-0-0-0-0; Ava Messer 0-00-0-0; Gracy Zechman 0-00-0-0; Peyton Webb 0-00-0-0; Raegan Hutchison 3-0-0-1-6; TOTALS 7-1-17-18.
MINSTER (77) Katie McClurg 1-3-1-212; Brooke Clune 1-0-0-02; Chloe Thien 0-1-1-2-4; Kaycie Albers 0-4-0-0-12; Kendyl Bergman 0-0-0-00; Lydia Mescher 0-1-0-0-3; Morgan Sparks 1-1-0-0-5; Lilly Barhorst 5-0-4-4-14; Sadie Niemeyer 1-0-0-0-2; Annie Hemmelgarn 0-00-0-0; Lyndi Hemmelgarn 1-3-2-2-13; Kayla Lamm 3-0-0-0-6; Kennedy Korte 0-0-0-0-0; Addi Inskeep 1-0-0-0-2; Reece Albers 1-0-0-0-2; TOTALS 15-138-10-77.