Leipsic’s Ava Henry drives to the hoop as she is defended by Megan Kerner of Delphos St John’s on Wednesday night in Leipsic.
Nate Reynolds | The Lima News
LEIPSIC – When Leipsic senior Ava Henry got ahold of the basketball in the final seconds of Wednesday’s Division IV sectional semifinal game against visiting Delphos St. John’s, there was no doubt in her mind what she was going to do.
After a rebound off a missed Delphos St. John’s free-throw, Henry received a pass, went nearly the full length of the court, and made a layup as time was running down to give Leipsic a thrilling 31-30 victory over St. John’s.
Henry led Leipsic (11-12) and all scorers with 19 points, including one 3-pointer. Henry also came away with six rebounds and four steals for the Vikings.
With the win, No. 6 seed Leipsic advances to a sectional final on Saturday against No. 4 seed Miller City. That sectional final will be played at Miller City with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
St. John’s ended its season with a record of 5-18.
When Leipsic took the lead in the final seconds of the contest, that was the first lead for the Vikings since early in the first quarter.
With his team being down 30-29 in the waning moments of the contest, longtime Leipsic coach Gary Kreinbrink was confident that his team would make the right decisions down the stretch.
“I knew if we were down one or two points that we weren’t going to call a timeout. … We were just going to go,” Kreinbrink said. “If we were down three (points), I might have called a timeout and tried to set something up to get a 3-point shot off. Ava (Henry) won a game like that earlier this year. … We had a game-winner, going full-court against Arlington. She (Henry) is a senior. She had her mind made up. Somehow, she was going to have the ball in her hands at the end.”
Added St. John’s first-year coach Ian Finn, “It was tough. Even at the end of the game (before Henry’s basket), we had an opportunity. We work on it all the time. We had a little bit of a stall-ball look (in its final possession). With film, we kind of knew if we got in that situation (lead toward the end), we wanted to try to get something easy at the rim. Give credit to Henry. She is an incredible player. She went coast-to-coast there at the end and hit a clutch shot.”
Along with Henry’s game-high 19 points on Wednesday, teammate Leah Kirkendall had 10 points and seven boards.
Abby Kerner led St. John’s with 10 points, including three 3-pointers. Kerner also came away with five rebounds. Ava Hershey had eight points, including two 3-pointers. Hershey also had six boards, two steals, and one block. Emma Will had six points, three boards, and two assists for the Blue Jays.
Big scorers
Several area girls basketball players topped the 15-point plateau in recent games:
• Olivia Burkhart scored 28 points for Ada in a first-round loss to Waynesfield-Goshen.
• Chelcie McVetta scored a game-high 25 points, leading Cory Rawson to a sectional semifinal win over LCC.
• Sadie Larrabee of Kenton scored 23 points in an opening-round loss to St. Marys.
• Tatelyn Faraglia paced Waynesfield-Goshen with 20 points in a narrow first-round victory over Ada.
• Izzy McDermott of Bath scored 19 points in a sectional semifinal win over Defiance.
• Maisie Strawser of Lima Senior contributed 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists in an 11-point win over Mansfield Madison.
• Grace Freiberger of Shawnee scored 16 points in the final game of her high school career against Rodgers.
• Reagan Allemeier of St. Marys scored 15 points against Kenton.
• Autumn Cavelage of Fort Jennings scored 15 points in a one-point victory over Pandora-Gilboa.
• Cadence Hirschfield of St. Marys contributed 15 points in a sectional semifinal win over Kenton.
• Rachel Rammel of Celina had 15 points in a 58-27 loss to Liberty-Benton.
• Sidney Payne of Kenton tallied 15 in a losing effort against St. Marys.
GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS
Western Buckeye League
`WBL`All
Ottawa-Glandorf`9-0`20-2
Bath`8-1`17-6
St. Marys`6-3`12-11
Kenton`5-4`11-12
Wapakoneta`4-5`11-12
Shawnee`4-5`8-15
Van Wert`4-5`6-17
Elida`3-6`7-16
Celina`1-8`7-16
Defiance`1-8`2-21
Midwest Athletic Conference
`MAC`All
St. Henry`7-2`17-5
Minster`7-2`17-6
Marion Local`7-2`16-7
Versailles`7-2`15-7
Parkway`5-4`16-6
New Bremen`4-5`10-12
Coldwater`3-6`10-12
Fort Recovery`3-6`8-15
St. John’s`1-8`4-17
New Knoxville`1-8`3-19
Northwest Conference
`NWC`All
Crestview`7-1`21-2
Delphos Jefferson`7-1`19-3
Allen East`6-2`20-2
Columbus Grove`6-2`17-5
Lincolnview`4-4`13-10
Spencerville`3-5`12-11
Leipsic`2-6`11-12
Bluffton`1-7`7-16
Ada`0-8`9-14
Northwest Central Conference
`NWCC`All
Perry`7-1`15-6
Elgin`6-2`15-7
Waynesfield-Goshen`6-2`12-11
Ridgedale`5-3`11-11
Cory-Rawson`5-3`7-16
Upper Scioto Valley`3-5`7-15
Ridgemont`3-5`4-18
Hardin Northern`1-7`4-19
North Baltimore`0-8`1-21
Putnam County League
`PCL`All
Ottoville`6-1`17-5
Columbus Grove`6-1`17-5
Kalida`6-1`16-6
Miller City`4-3`15-7
Leipsic`3-4`11-12
Pandora – Gilboa`2-5`8-15
Fort Jennings`1-6`4-19
Continental`0-7`0-23
Toledo City Athletic League
`TCAL`All
Rogers`6-1`14-7
Start`6-2`8-12
Bowsher`4-2`11-10
Scott`5-4`14-8
Lima Senior`3-4`11-12
Woodward`2-6`4-12
Waite`0-7`2-16
RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Wednesday
Waynesfield-Goshen 53, Ada 50
Minster 74, Ridgemont 17
New Bremen 55, Spencerville 40
Marion Local 58, Hardin Northern 20
Cory-Rawson 69, LCC 36
Lincolnview 57, Continental 23
Fort Jennings 51, Pandora-Gilboa 50
Crestview 80, North Central 12
Wapakoneta 42, Holland Springfield 30
Lima Senior 60, Mansfield Madison 49
Riverdale 53, Arlington 48
Ayersville 58, Hicksville 19
Stryker 48, Pettisville 30
Antwerp 50, Edon 46
Holgate 53, North Baltimore 47
Thursday
Bath 54, Defiance 25
St. Marys 65, Kenton 54
Wayne Trace 35, Fort Recovery 30
Liberty-Benton 58, Celina 27
Coldwater 46, Van Buren 44
Bryan 67, Otsego 19
Paulding 50, Bluffton 49
Wauseon 45, Maumee 31
Rodgers 66, Shawnee 43
Elida 37, Van Wert 22
Saturday
Upper Scioto Valley at Marion Local, 1 p.m.
Waynesfield-Goshen at St. Henry, 2 p.m.
Elmwood at Ottawa-Glandorf, 2 p.m.
Fayette at Crestview, 3 p.m.
Wapakoneta at Ashland, 4 p.m.
Minster at New Knoxville, 7 p.m.
New Bremen at Perry, 7 p.m.
Cory-Rawson at Ottoville, 7 p.m.
Fort Jennings at Columbus Grove, 7 p.m.
Lima Senior at Findlay, 7 p.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Thursday
Miller City 56, Paulding 46
Fort Jennings 69, Leipsic 60
Pandora-Gilboa 59, Continental 19
Friday
Games ended after The Lima News deadline. Find scores, game stories, photos and more on LimaScores.com.
Hicksville at Miller City, 7 p.m.
Marion Local at Delphos St. John’s, 7 p.m.
LCC at Arlington, 7:15 p.m.
Lincolnview at Ada, 7:30 p.m.
Columbus Grove at Allen East, 7:30 p.m.
Van Wert at Bath, 7:30 p.m.
Paulding at Bluffton, 7:30 p.m.
Delphos Jefferson at Spencerville, 7:30 p.m.
Shawnee at Elida, 7:30 p.m.
Ayersville at Kalida, 7:30 p.m.
Wayne Trace at Ottoville, 7:30 p.m.
Perry at Ridgemont, 7:30 p.m.
Waynesfield-Goshen at Temple Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Defiance at Wapakoneta, 7:30 p.m.
Kenton at Ottawa-Glandorf, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
LCC at Defiance, 6 p.m.
Ada at Vanlue, 7:30 p.m.
Allen East at Perry, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 27
Riverdale at Allen East, 7 p.m.
Columbus Grove at Bluffton, 7 p.m.
Defiance at Upper Sandusky, 7 p.m.
Van Wert at Celina, 7 p.m.
Bath at Napoleon, 7 p.m.
Mansfield Madison at Lima Senior, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 28
Lincolnview at Cory-Rawson, 7 p.m.
Kalida at Miller City, 7 p.m.
Continental at Crestview, 7 p.m.
Delphos Jefferson at Leipsic, 7 p.m.
Fort Jennings at Parkway, 7 p.m.
Hardin Northern at New Riegel, 7 p.m.
Ada at LCC, 7 p.m.
New Bremen at Ridgemont, 7 p.m.
Fort Recovery at Upper Scioto Valley, 7 p.m.
Temple Christian at Perry, 7 p.m.
Waynesfield-Goshen at Marion Local, 7 p.m.
Friday, March 1
Kenton at St. Marys, 7 p.m.
Wapakoneta at Anthony Wayne, 7 p.m.
