John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
FRANKFORT — Trailing 33-28 with less than six minutes to play, Adena was able to put it all together before.
The Warriors figured things out offensively and did enough on the defensive end to close out Huntington with a game-ending 13-2 run, earning a key SVC victory on Saturday night by a 41-35 final.
With a balanced attack, the Warriors (3-1, 2-0 SVC) withstood an outstanding offensive performance from Huntington’s Allie Baker.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Huntington’s senior guard got things started early with a three-point play, assisted by Tori Smith on a backdoor cut. Baker scored all 11 points for Huntington in the opening quarter, including a pair of triples to give her team an 11-4 advantage after eight minutes of play.
After a slow start, the Warriors began to gain some traction on the offensive end. Scores from Marly Halcomb and Jacey Smith kept the score tight before a pair of shots from downtown from Corinne Day cut the lead to 18-15 with 4:31 to play in the half.
“I’m really not a perimeter shooter, but tonight it was open for me,” Corinne Day said, following the win. “I’ve been working really hard on shooting and playing with confidence.”
After putting together a series of stops on the defensive end, Adena slowly got back into the game and finally took its first lead with 42 seconds to play in the half. Day connected with Kamryn Sowers for a layup to go ahead 19-18, but that lead wouldn’t last long.
Baker picked off a pass and scored a layup in the closing seconds to take a 20-19 Huntington lead into the locker room.
Out of the break, the Warriors ratcheted up their defensive pressure, forcing seven Huntington turnovers and only allowing a pair of interior scores from Brailee Hauswirth to storm in front, 28-24, late in the quarter.
“I love defense,” Jacey Smith said of the Warriors’ defensive effort, “I always like getting after it. It always gives me a boost of energy and confidence. Just knowing if I need to get the ball or put pressure on the ball, that I can do it.”
After going scoreless for nearly the entire third quarter, Baker made a huge play to rip the momentum back to the Township’s bench with a driving layup a the 6.7-second. She finished through contact and eventually finished the three-point play at the free throw line, cutting the deficit to 28-27 after three.
Baker continued her barrage early in the fourth with a floater along the baseline to grab the lead with 7:04 to play and extended the edge with a gorgeous spin move on the break with 6:34 remaining, forcing an Adena timeout to regroup.
Out of the timeout, Baker added on to give the Huntsmen a 33-28 lead with only 5:40 to play.
But that would be the last points for Huntington throughout the next five minutes of play.
Adena’s Ava Ferrell buried an elbow jumper to cut the lead to three before Halcomb scored on a well-designed out-of-bounds play at the 4:17 mark. After Ferrell split a pair of free throws with 3:28 to go, and the Warriors got another defensive stop, it was time to run clock.
“The thing about Ava is there are one-hundred ways to impact winning that doesn’t show up in the box score,” Adena coach Andrew Day said. “She does every one of them. She’s just a kid that shows up ready to work and ready to get after it. To see it pay off is really exciting.”
Adena ran nearly a minute off the ticker before Jacey Smith threw a perfect lob into Day, who scored a short jumper with 2:20 to play to take a 35-33 lead.
The Warriors continued their lockdown defensive effort and, after getting stops, iced the game at the free throw line behind Halcomb and Smith. That duo combined to go 6-for-6 in the final 90 seconds, boosting the Warriors to their third straight victory.
Allie Baker finished the game with a game-high 27 points while Hauswirth added six points and nine rebounds for the Huntsmen.
“We told the girls going in, ‘Here’s who starting [guarding Baker], but we’re going to mix it up.’ To guard her wears you out,” Day said. “She runs through all kinds of screens. She’s a fantastic player. She’s going to get her points. The question is how hard is she going to have to work for those? Early, she didn’t have to work that hard. But as the game went on, we did a better job of making life difficult.”
Day led the Warriors with 12 points and six rebounds, Halcomb added 11 markers, and Smith scored eight points and passed out a game-high seven assists.
While Huntington (1-2, 0-2 SVC) will try and regroup on Wednesday with a home date against Piketon, Adena is back in action on Monday, hosting Fairfield.
BOX SCORE
Huntington: 11-9-7-8 — 35
Adena: 4-15-9-13 — 41
Huntington: 13-36 FG, 6-8 FT, 3-10 3pt., 27 rebounds (Hauswirth 9), 22 turnovers, 6 assists (Smith 5). Scoring: Baker 27, Hauswirth 6, McCloskey 2.
Adena: 15-51 FG, 7-8 FT, 4-11 3pt., 22 rebounds (Day 6), 9 turnovers, 9 assists (Smith 7). Scoring: Day 12, Halcomb 11, Smith 8, Ferrell 6, Sowers 4.
SPONSORED BY SHANE MAIER — STATE FARM INSURANCE
