Wednesday, January 20th, 2016

Celina holds off LCC

Four Bulldogs reach double figures in 60-51 victory

By Colin Foster
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Celina's Caelyn Reineke defends during Tuesday's game with Lima Central Catholic. Teammate Kelly Stahl is in the background. The Bulldogs defeated the Thunderbirds 60-51.

CELINA - The Celina girls basketball team had been on the wrong side of several close games over the last few weeks.
The Bulldogs finished on the right side Tuesday night.
Jenna Berry led a quartet of players in double figures with 16 points and the Bulldogs made enough plays down the stretch to fend off a late Lima Central Catholic charge for a 60-51 victory in non-conference play at the Fieldhouse.
Heather Heiby (14 points), Kelly Stahl (13) and Haley McGillvary (12) rounded out the list of double-digit scorers for Celina, which led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter.
After cutting the deficit to 43-34 by the end of three quarters, LCC came out sizzling from behind the three-point line in the fourth. Shelby Donnelly and Natalie Snider cashed back-to-back treys to make the score 50-45 with 5:45 to play. Later on, Madison Stolly drove and scored and then Snider buried another from downtown to pull the Thunderbirds within two at 52-50. It didn't get any closer.
Heiby dribbled baseline and scored and then Berry and Caelyn Reineke each hit a pair at the line to put the game out of reach.
"The big thing is we didn't panic," Celina coach Steve Bader said. "We did a lot better job executing our offense and scoring when we needed to. We knew they didn't have a post game. We had to worry about their threes. We just made the right calls. (Assistant) coach (Kyle) Menchhofer made some right calls with our offensive sets and we were able to score and we got to the foul line. We went 15-of-20, and that's huge. If you get fouled and make those foul shots, it makes it a lot easier."
The Bulldogs had trailed by five points early in the first quarter. They closed the frame with a 10-3 run and never trailed again.
Heiby and McGillvary knocked down back-to-back three-pointers as part of a 10-2 run in the second quarter. Celina led 31-22 at halftime.
Bader decided to play a little "Stahl Ball" in the third quarter. Kelly Stahl scored seven points and added an assist before having to exit with her third foul five minutes into the quarter. Stahl's play during that run and good-enough execution in crunch time enabled Celina to pull out the win over a stingy bunch from LCC.
"I thought we had a very good third quarter and then they hit those threes and kept battling back," Bader said. "By far it was our best team effort in terms of finishing a game. We've been struggling finishing games."
Stolly led LCC with 14 points and seven rebounds. Samantha Koenig and Shelby Donnelly each added 11 points for the T-Birds, who finished with 10 three-pointers on 29 attempts.
Stahl finished with a game-high nine rebounds for Celina.
It ends a streak of five consecutive losses for the Bulldogs (8-6), who will try to start a new winning streak at Wapakoneta on Thursday.
"We told the girls down in the locker room we've got to box out better against Wapak. We've got to get those rebounds," Bader added. "I'm very happy with the win. We needed it. Now we've got to get ready for Wapak on Thursday."
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Jenna Berry had a big game Tuesday for Celina as it snapped a five-game losing skid with a 60-51 win over Lima Central Catholic at the Fieldhouse.

Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Haley McGillvary scored 14 points to help Celina snap its recent cold streak with a win over Lima Central Catholic at the Fieldhouse on Tuesday.

Additional online story on this date
CELINA - The Ebola outbreak that dominated headlines and set off international panic in late 2014 appears to be waning, leading local health officials to shift their focus toward other infectious diseases. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
I.C. School students learn about the legal system during event
CELINA - A hush fell over the courtroom as Peter Pan took the stand. Accused of kidnapping Wendy, the boy who never grew up argued his innocence during an hourlong trial.
Minster
MINSTER - The Minster Area Life Squad will continue to have a full-time employee on duty during daytime hours.
Officials from the village and two n
CELINA - Mercer County Board of Elections Directors Deb Sneddon and Laura Bruns last week took home the Ohio Election Official of the Year awards.
Jim Dicke II, Crown Equipment Corp. CEO, has been elected to the Republican National Committee's Committee on Contests.
The RNC on Friday unanimous
Members asked to set goals for year
ROCKFORD - Council members continue to discuss ideas to improve their committees as several long-term village projects move forward.
Mayor Amy Jose
ST. MARYS - The city planning commission on Tuesday night recommended zoning recently annexed land as industrial.
The recommendation to zone 1.628 acres of land on the south side of McKinley Road west of the RJ Corman Railroad as industrial will be sent to city council for final approval.
ROCKFORD - Parkway girls basketball coach Chris Weirrick almost did a double take when he saw the lead his Panthers had during their game against Bradford.
Area Roundup
Compiled by Colin Foster and Gary R. Rasberry
Fort Recovery used defense to extended its winning streak to five games with a 41-29 victory over S