John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CIRCLEVILLE — Even a 30-minute delay couldn’t slow down Kiannah Ingram and the Logan Elm Braves on Tuesday night.
Ingram buried eight triples — a new school record — and was a perfect 13-for-13 from the foul line as the short-handed Braves (1-1) battled to a 60-51 non-conference win over the visiting Southeastern Panthers.
“In warm-ups, I was making a lot of shots. I didn’t really miss,” Ingram said. “I know that if I have a good warm-up, then I’m going to have a good game. It just built my confidence up. I saw it kept going through the hoop, so I just kept shooting.”
It was far from smooth sailing for the Braves as the Panthers made good on their size advantage inside to take an early lead.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
The Ruckel sisters — Reese and Rowan — took control early for the Panthers, helping them take a 19-16 lead after one quarter, combining for 13 points and eight rebounds.
“We’re not big to begin with and we’re missing a couple of starters,” Logan Elm’s Kimmy Petty said. “But Maggie [Wilson] and Maleah [Gardner], they batted tonight. It’s hard to box out [Reese and Rowan Ruckel]. They’re big and they’re strong. But they really did a great job.”
However, in that same quarter, Ingram caught fire early, knocking down four shots from deep on her way to 14 first quarter points. She then hit another shot from downtown to start the second quarter, before a layup from Wilson grabbed the lead for the Braves.
Petty added to the lead with a steal and a Euro-step finish at the basket to grab a 24-21 lead midway through the quarter.
Southeastern (1-1) tied the game at 24-24 with two free throws from Rowan Ruckel and another from Abby Millett. But the Braves took the lead into the break after a pair of late free throws from Ingram made it 26-24.
Reese Ruckel split a pair of shots from the stripe to get the second half started, but a barrage of long range strikes from the Braves extended their lead.
Ingram, Maddie Adkins and Molly Miller converted from deep on three consecutive possessions to give the Braves a 35-25 early in the third.
The Panthers chipped away at the lead with a shot in the paint from Dylan Skaggs, before a 7-0 run from Rowan Ruckel — punctuated on a connection from her sister, Reese, to her inside for a left-handed layup — made it 35-34.
Following a free throw from Miller, Ingram was fouled on a 3, where she calmly knocked down all three attempts. She then dialed downtown again to extend the Braves’ lead back to nine at 43-34.
A couple of minutes later, with the score at 45-36 and Reese Ruckel about to toe the free throw line, chaos ensued as the fire alarm was triggered with 1:30 to play in the third.
The gym was cleared, thankfully with no issues, but even with the crowd coming back in, it would take over 30 minutes for the teams to return to action.
After the extended break, Ruckel split the pair, before Gracie Brown forced a turnover and hit Rowan Ruckel inside for a buzzer-beating layup to bring Southeastern within six heading into the final quarter.
To start the fourth, Ally Fisher found Brown on the outside, where the junior buried the first — and only — triple of the game for the Panthers. After forcing a turnover, Reese Ruckel hit a pair of freebies and a tough interior layup to take Southeastern’s first lead since early in the second quarter at 46-45.
With 5:11 to play, a game-changing play happened.
Ingram drove to the basket and a foul was called on Fisher, fouling out the versatile guard and putting Ingram at the stripe with a chance to take the lead.
Ingram converted both shots, before a steal and three-point play from Petty made it a 50-46 game. On the ensuing possession, Petty picked up another steal and hit Ingram in transition, who buried her eighth triple of the game with 4:22 to play.
“It was nice and it was rewarding [to help LE take a seven-point lead],” Petty said. “But in the end, [Ingram] and Maddie [Adkins] caused that steal. I was just there and read the play right.”
The Panthers battled to the last horn, but could never get any closer than five points as the Braves picked up their first win of the season.
Ingram scored a career-high 37 points, Petty added seven points and six assists, Wilson added six points and Miller had five with five rebounds. Adkins pulled down a team-high six rebounds, while Gardner also grabbed five of her own.
As a team, the Braves shot a blistering 22-for-26 at the foul line, which was a back-breaker for the Panthers, who shot just 12-for-28.
Reese Ruckel had a monster game for the Panthers, scoring 21 points and pulling down 25 rebounds. Rowan Ruckel scored 17 points and grabbed eight boards of her own, and Brown added seven points for the Panthers.
While Southeastern returns to action on Saturday, hosting Paint Valley to begin SVC play, Logan Elm will next host Hamilton Township on Dec. 3.
“We’ve been working really hard knowing that we’ve got some starters out,” Ingram said. “It’s pretty big. I know that with those starters coming in, we’ll be even better.”
BOX SCORE
Southeastern: 19-5-15-12 — 51
Logan Elm: 16-10-19-15 — 60
Southeastern: 18-45 FG, 12-28 FT, 1-11 3pt., 41 rebounds, 28 turnovers, 11 assists. Scoring: Re. Ruckel 20, Ro. Ruckel 17, Brown 7, Skaggs 5, Millett 1.
Logan Elm: 14-53 FG, 22-26 FT, 10-33 3pt., 25 rebounds, 16 turnovers, 8 assists. Scoring: Ingram 37, Petty 7, Wilson 6, Miller 5, Adkins 3, Conaway 2.
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