Lima Senior’s Mallory Gipson shoots against New Knoxville’s Brynn Egbert during Wednesday’s Vicki Mauk Holiday Classic at the Elida Fieldhouse.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
ELIDA — It wasn’t exactly the finish Lima Senior wanted, but it was the one the Spartans needed Wednesday night in a girls basketball matchup.
The Spartans, up by 15 with less than three minutes to go in the game, held off a frantic New Knoxville comeback attempt and escaped with a one-point win, 46-45, in the first game of the Vicki Mauk Holiday Classic at the Elida Fieldhouse.
“We’ve been struggling this year with finishing strong,” said Lima Senior coach LaKeisha Sigman. “We did a lot of talking about we needed to do at the end of games to finish strong and get the win.”
Lima Senior (6-6) faces tournament host Elida (1-7) in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. New Knoxville (1-9) faces Van Buren (4-7).
Maisie Strawser, a 5-foot-7 senior, had 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Three of those treys were in the first quarter, when the Spartans jumped out to an early 11-6 lead.
Anya James, a 5-foot-6 junior, had nine points and three steals for the Spartans, and Mallory Gipson, a 5-foot-10, junior, had a team-high six rebounds.
New Knoxville coach Alivia Koenig expressed her pride in her team’s effort at the end, even if it did come up short. The Rangers had pulled ahead 28-26 with 51 second left in the third quarter, for just their second lead of the game, when the Spartans went on a 17-0 run for the big fourth-quarter lead.
“I’m definitely proud of them for not giving up,” Koenig said. “They could have. They could have easily turned and put their heads down. They didn’t; they fought until the very end. There’s nothing more than I could have asked for.”
Addi Albers,a 5-foot-10 sophomore, paced New Knoxville with 25 points, including 10 in the pivotal fourth quarter, and 15 rebounds. Avery Albers, a 5-foot-8 freshman, added another 10 points. Brynn Egbert, a 6-foot junior, added another 11 rebounds for the Rangers, who held a convincing 41-24 edge on the boards, as Lima Senior was about 3 inches shorter at nearly every position.
Now the Spartans are anxious to take home a tournament title from the city’s west side.
“We’re looking to win the tournament, of course,” Sigman said prior to Elida’s win. “Whoever we face, we’ll be ready for them.”
Lima Senior 46, New Knoxville 45
Lima Senior 11 10 9 16 — 46
New Knoxville 7 7 14 17 — 45
LIMA SENIOR
Amiyah Coleman 8, Maisie Strawser 20, Ke’Asia Jones 5, Anya James 9, Mallory Gipson 4. Totals: 17-6-46.
NEW KNOXVILLE
Avery Albers 10, Keianna Wellman 7, Brynn Egbert 3, Addi Albers 25. Totals: 15-12-45.
3-pointers: LS-Strawser 4, Coleman 1, Jones 1; NK-A.Albers 1, Egbert 1, Wellman 1.
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
