Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CIRCLEVILLE — Logan Elm coach Mike Schultz said it best after Wednesday’s bout with Waverly.
“Shooting is contagious.”
Throughout the entirety of the first three quarters of a Division IV first round game, the Braves couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat.
And it wasn’t due to a lack of effort. Shots just simply weren’t falling.
But when the first 3-ball went in near the beginning of the fourth, another fell and then another.
And all of the sudden, Logan Elm couldn’t miss.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
The scoring avalanche turned into a 28-point fourth quarter, one that flipped the script and helped the Braves stun Waverly by a 58-50 final.
“I told the girls that hitting those shots, it’s a contagious skill,” Schultz said. “They were able to do that. Once we hit one, we were able to hit another and when that all happened, it started putting pressure on Waverly. They weren’t as effective as they had been. We had a game like this against Amanda-Clearcreek where we were down in the second half before starting to hit those shots. So we know we can put up points in a quick way.”
To put the two halves in perspective, Logan Elm (12-11) was 2-of-22 from the 3-point arc in the first two quarters of play and 8-of-39 overall.
The second? A different story.
Behind Kiannah Ingram, Kennedy Groff, Kimmy Petty and a host of other contributors, LE shot 40 percent (6-of-15) from downtown and 39 percent (13-of-33), overall, from the field.
“Waverly did some things on us early with that triangle and two defense,” Schultz said. “We were getting wide open shots and finally, we started hitting them. A lot of it is just the mindset. We changed some things up at halftime but one of the things that I kept reminding them is that you have to be the one that’s willing to risk taking that shot, but go into it with that mindset that I’m going to make this one.”
Gillian Savage gave Logan Elm a quick 3-0 lead with a 3 at the 6:50 mark in the first quarter. Waverly (11-12) answered with buckets from Sadie Royster and Caris Risner to take a 4-3 lead before taking an 11-8 advantage into the second.
In the second, the Tigers started to pull away.
Royster scored before Taryn Gillott followed suit for an 18-12 lead with 4:05 to play. When Abby Schrader hit a 3 at the 3:31 mark, Waverly had a 21-12 edge and eventually stretched it to 30-19 going into halftime.
Not much changed in the third, either.
Paige O’Bryant helped Waverly build a 36-21 lead with a bucket and a foul, followed by two more freebies at the 5:40 mark. The Braves continued to struggle from the field but fought to shave the deficit to 41-30 going into the fourth.
By all accounts, at that point in the game, all signs pointed towards Waverly advancing.
But with Logan Elm’s season on life support, Kimmy Petty hit a 3 with 7:50 remaining and it started an offensive revival.
Following a turnover, Kennedy Groff dialed long distance to cut Waverly’s lead to 41-36 with 7:30 to play and, at that point, every ounce of momentum completely shifted towards LE.
“I know that, early, Kennedy Groff was a little frustrated because the corner 3 is her shot,” Schultz said. “For her to miss like she was in that first half, it created a negative mindset. But when she saw the ball go finally through … I’ll tell you what, our girls know how to celebrate each other. They put in a ton of time in the offseason and that’s to be able to hit those shots.”
Ingram splashed in a triple with 5:45 to go, making it 43-40, Molly Miller scored at the 5:21 mark, and Maggie Wilson scored with 4:22 to go, giving the Braves their first lead since early in the first quarter at 44-43.
They never looked back.
Petty sank another 3, making it 47-43, and Ingram scored at the 3:05, 2:21 and 1:25 marks to close out one of the most improbable wins this season.
“We talked about it in the locker room and once one person hit a 3, we had like three back-to-back 3’s and I think it got our student section hyped and it got our bench hyped,” Groff said. “We just started making our shots from there. It started it.”
Statistically, Ingram led all scorers with 25 points alongside seven rebounds. Groff followed with nine points and eight boards, and Petty added eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
Royster led Waverly with 18 points and eight rebounds, Risner had 16 points and 10 boards and O’Bryant finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and four helpers.
While the Tigers’ season comes to a close, Logan Elm advances to a Division IV district quarterfinal at 2 p.m., Saturday. The Braves will meet with Circleville, who has already handed them two losses this year — 65-39 on Dec. 7 and 56-28 on Jan. 17.
“We just have to prepare like we usually do,” Ingram said. “[Circleville’s] Addison [Edgington], you don’t really see many 6-foot-2 posts. So, we just have to get Maggie prepared and she will be and then do what we can do outside. We have to hit more shots and be ready to shoot.”
BOX SCORE
Waverly: 11-19-11-9 — 50
Logan Elm: 8-11-11-28 — 58
Waverly: 14-52 FG, 19-24 FT, 3-19 3pt., 38 rebounds (O’Bryant 12), 19 turnovers, 6 assists (O’Bryant 4). Scoring: Royster 18, Risner 16, O’Bryant 9, Gillott 4, Schrader 3.
Logan Elm: 21-72 FG, 8-13 FT, 8-35 pt., 37 rebounds (Groff 8), 13 turnovers, 10 assists (Petty 3). Scoring: Ingram 25, Groff 9, Petty 8, Adkins 5, Miller 4, Savage 3, Wilson 2, Gardner 2.
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