Tanks now 11-0 with win over Adena
SVCsportszone.com Contributor
When the top two teams in the Scioto Valley Conference clash on the hardwood, it's only fitting that a tense struggle develops, going down to the wire.
That was exactly the case Saturday when the undefeated Unioto Lady Shermans held off the determined Adena Lady Warriors 54-47 in girls basketball action before a big crowd at the “U.”
Unbeaten at 11-0 overall and 8-0 in the SVC, the Tanks gave Coach Cyndy Driggs her 201st career victory at Unioto and her 244th overall.
Adena (8-4, 6-2 SVC) whittled a 14-point third-quarter deficit down to four points in the final two minutes, but the Shermans' tightened their defense to close the deal.
“Adena has come a long way,” said Driggs in a radio interview with WKKJ's Mike Smith, reflecting on an earlier Unioto win at Adena. “They hurt us on the boards in the first half.”
The score was deadlocked at 14-14 going to the second quarter, but junior forward Chloe Cottrell and freshman Erin Bane gave the Tanks a huge lift to lead Unioto to a 31-23 halftime advantage. Cottrill scored 15 first-half points and Bane came off the bench to add six.
Blanked in the second half, Cottrell still led with 15 points. Bane finished with eight.
Adena senior Ashley Jordan led all scorers with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Jordan, headed to Ohio University to play volleyball in the fall, scored 14 second-half points. Her two free throws with 1:37 left in the game cut the Unioto lead to 51-47, but the Warriors failed to score the rest of the way.
Tanks Mackenzie Arledge and Janae Driggs dominated on the inside in the second half, Arledge with her scoring and rebounding and Driggs with her penetration and ball-hawking defense. At only 5-foot-5, Driggs picked up eight steals and four rebounds to go with her eight points.
“The strength of this team is going to the hoop,” Coach Driggs said. “We still know we have a lot of room for improvement and we're working on that. We need to be pushed like this, we need games like this.”
The Lady Tanks overcame a sub-par game from their floor leader, senior point guard Shiann Ray who finished with only six points. Still, Ray had three steals, four assists and three rebounds.
For the Warriors, senior Britney Snyder added 10 points and junior Kirsti Yates eight.
AS PERFECT SEASON CONTINUES
By Shayne Combs, SVCsportszone.com
Adena was really solid for the first 12 minutes of today's game. The Lady Warriors were keeping the ball in front for the most part on the defenisve end, and on offense, I felt like Jordan was much more involved compared to the first meeting between these teams earlier this year.
The next quarter-and-a-half belonged to Unioto, and the thing I was so impressed with was the Shermans did it with things that many people feel are their few weeknesses.
I have heard so many people say Unioto can't shoot from the outside; however, the first half saw Chloe Cottrell knock down three tirples and Erin Bane also provided some outside shooting.
Another weakness I have heard - and I will admit that outside of Arledge this is an area that I was a little skeptical of as well - is their inability to rebound, but what makes them capable of being solid on the boards is their versatile guards. Cottrell is capable of defending all five positions and can really rebound. Guards Shiann Ray, Janae Driggs, and Erin Bane also are solid rebounders. In the third quarter today, Driggs kept so many key possessions alive with offensive rebounding when the purple and gold started to break things open.
Through all the athleticism, talent, and unmatched defensive pressure that this team is made up of this season, the thing that really completes them is their chemistry. When I watch this team play, I can see how much they like one another. I have always thought one of the most untrue statements in all of sports is the one that says "You don't have to like one another, you just have to play together." I think it is impossible to have one without the other. During a year you are going to face adversity, and the close teams are going to play through it better than the teams that are not close.
I think Unioto is a very unselfish team. They have four or five players who could score 20 on any given night, and they all are so willing to share the basketball.
Westfall did jump out to a 12-5 advantage, but leading-scorer Makenzie Wippel was forced to the bench with foul trouble. Paint Valley took advantage outscoring Westfall 21-9 to open up a five-point advantage.
When Wippel returned to the floor, the Lady Mustangs did close the gap to one at 29-28 entering the fourth quarter, but PV was able to take control in the fourth quarter. The Lady Cats had a chance to put the game away much earlier, but 23 turnovers and 9-27 from the free throw line kept the Mustangs close.
In the loss, Wippel scored 10 points and grabbed five boards. Jess Brown added nine points and four rebounds, while freshman Alex Phillips gave some nice minutes off the bench recording four rebounds and an assist. Westfall was also playing without Jess Shannon for the second straight game due to injury.
For the winners, Barker scored a game-high 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out four assists. Rumfield also had a nice all-around game recording 11 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, and four assists. Sophomores Abbie Walls and Dacia Posey added 10 and 7 points, respectively.
By Shayne Combs, SVCsportszone.com
I thought Adena played really well today. They got contributions from several kids. The Snyder twins shot it well early, Kirsti Yates had a great second half, Brytan Givens did a nice job handling the ball against Ray - who I think is probably the best perimeter defender in the league, and of course, Jordan was outstanding.
I realize Adena probably can't win the league now, but I think if this team is able to clean-up a few things, they could be a very tough "out" in this year's Division III tournament.
In the win, Erin Dailey added 12 points and Makinzee Tatman returned to the starting line-up and produced eight points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Tatman also joined Sierra Sigman and Tasha Harrington in holding Piketon's Heather Burns in check. Burns scored seven late points to end the game with nine points on the day.
For Piketon, Holly Brabson scored 18 points and Tori Pelphrey added 10 points.
Bridgette Neighbors scored nine points in the win for the green and white and Mika Bowles added eight points and nine rebounds.
In the loss, Olivia Arledge led the Lady Panthers with five points.