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St. Henry's Alexis Buschur (2) Karlee Buschur (15) trap Marion Local's Kate Ashman (12).
WAPAKONETA - It was an all-MAC affair in the Division VI district semifinals in Wapakoneta, as St. Henry beat Marion Local and Minster bested Parkway to advance to their respective District Finals on Saturday.
For the third time this season, St. Henry and Marion Local battled on the hardwood. As was the case the previous two times, it was the Redskins who ran away victors.
"I'm just proud of the girls," Redskins' coach Nate Uhlenhake said. "It's hard to beat a team three times, let alone Marion Local. Trying to beat a team like that three times in a season is really difficult, so I'm proud of the girls for coming out and battling."
The win puts St. Henry in the Division VI District finals against Lincolnview this weekend back in Wapakoneta after the Lancers beat Delphos Jefferson 30-28.
It was a good start for the Flyers as Mya Eckstein's three put her team ahead 7-3 after just three minutes, but turnovers haunted them. The Redskins rallied behind five points from Morgan Baumer to take a 10-9 lead into the first break.
A trey from Alexis Buschur opened the second quarter and St. Henry's lead was 13-9. After Kiley Schoenlein cut the lead in half, it looked as though Marion was up for the challenge.
Five of the next six points went the way of the Redskins after Addie Homan connected from deep to make it 18-12. A floater from Kate Ashman stopped the Redskins' charge, but Baumer's put-back made it 22-16 St. Henry at halftime.
St. Henry's Morgan Baumer (3) shoots over Marion Local's Kalyn Thobe.
Baumer had seven points at the break to lead the Redskins. Clare Bruns and Schoenlein had four each for the Flyers at halftime. The key in the second quarter was the press of St. Henry's. It forced four turnovers in the quarter, and led to easy transition points to aid the Redskins' efforts.
Marion Local opened the second half on a solid run to take the momentum. A hook shot from Eckstein and Schoenlein's put-back made it 24-20 St. Henry, but Baumer came up big again.
The guard drove to the hoop and in a circus-like effort threw the ball toward to hoop. The shot dropped to put a six-point gap between the teams and the Redskins had the momentum right back.
Homan got an old-fashioned three to make it 29-20, and St. Henry took a 29-22 lead into the final frame. Despite the Redskins scoring just seven points in the quarter, Marion was held to just six and was unable to trim the deficit.
It was Buschur-to-Buschur to start the fourth quarter for St. Henry. Alexis found Karlee on a cut to grow the lead to nine with seven minutes left, but Marion used an Eckstein layup to eventually make it 31-25. The lead was cut to three after Bruns' trey connected, and Uhlenhake called time with 4:30 left.
Going into a massive possession, it was Baumer who got the ball. Her driving layup was good with a foul called, but a missed free throw kept it at 33-28 with 2:55 on the clock.
"Great players make great plays, and that's what she did," Uhlenhake said of Baumer. "When adversity struck we had people step up and make a play and tonight was her night."
The final stretch turned into a free-throw contest, and St. Henry was nails to kill the game. Over the whole game, St. Henry was 12-of-13 at the charity stripe, and held on for a seven-point win.
"We had shots, we cut it to three, we just didn't hit shots," Marion coach Beth Streib said. "You have to credit their physical defense, they kept us out on sync all night."
Parkway's Brittyn Bruns (3) is guarded by Minster's Josephine Hoying (13).
To say the Minster-Parkway game was a rock fight would offend rocks. The Wildcats' typical brand of defense held the Panthers to single digits in three quarters, and Minster held off a late rally to get by Parkway in a physical contest.
Minster advances to play Riverdale in the District Finals on Saturday at Lima Senior after the Falcons got past Allen East 46-39.
The game started off fast as the teams traded baskets. Minster led 4-2 a few minutes in after Sophia Dirksen put the Wildcats on top. Parkway used four points from Megan Hughes to take a 5-4 lead into the second quarter after her late hook shot.
While the first quarter saw few points scored, the second had few possessions. There were 14 combined possessions over the eight minutes as Minster's half-court offense got rolling.
Kali Schmiesing opened the quarter with a three to give the Wildcats a 7-5 lead, but Parkway struck back with Madelyn Stover to make it 8-7 Panthers.
Brittyn Bruns' layup made it 10-10 with 2:15 left in the half, and the score stood pat into halftime. Parkway was 2-of-6 from the field in the second quarter, while Minster was 1-of-6 but added three points from the line.
The third quarter belonged to the Wildcats. Dirksen's three made it 16-10 and Reece Albers' free throws set the score at 18-13. Hughes had the only Parkway points in the quarter, but it was not enough to stop Minster.
Minster's Reece Albers (10) drives past Parkway's Megan Hughes.
Dirksen added four more points in the quarter, while Albers had three more to give Minster a 25-13 lead with 2:19 left. Hughes' free throws made it 25-15 entering the fourth.
"We talked about it at halftime. We knew they would make some shots, and we had to respond," Parkway coach Dan Williamson said. "We didn't respond fast enough. Being down 10 to Minster is like being down 25 to other teams."
Being held to five points in the previous three quarters, Parkway started to find points in the fourth. Hughes went on a 4-0 run to make it 25-19 three minutes into the quarter.
Dirksen earned a trip to the line and made both shots to push the margin to eight with 1:23 left. The shots came after Minster drained almost two minutes after a Parkway miss. Hughes later connected on two more from the line to make it 28-21 with 40 seconds left.
Both teams scored a pair to made it 30-23 just 12 seconds later, and Bruns' steal on an inbound gave the Panthers some hope. Hughes got to the line on the possession, and cut the lead to five.
Minster's final possession went to Annie Hemmelgarn. After not scoring for the first 31:47, her free throw pushed the score to 31-25. Parkway missed on their final shot to seal the win for the Wildcats.
Parkway finished with 10 turnovers, as Minster's press forced the Panthers into key mistakes late.
"Pressure isn't there to get a steal," Minster coach Mike Wiss said. "It's there to change the tempo of the game, wear the other team out, because for our mental toughness, we have to make sure we don't get worn out."
The Panthers season ends with the loss, and a 19-5 record. Hughes had 17 to lead the team.
