First Posted: 3/5/2015
PAULDING — This was a night Bath had to go with Plan B.
The Wildkittens’ shots weren’t falling, so they found ways to get ball inside the Defiance 2-3 zone.
Defiance kept it close for nearly three quarters before Bath pulled away with a 47-32 victory in the Division II girls basketball district semifinals Thursday at Paulding.
Bath’s Maddie Dackin led the way with 18 points. Bri Smith added 10 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks. Cassie Best had eight points.
“I love tournament time,” Bath senior Smith said.
Smith dominated the glass and also swatted away shots to deny Defiance the easy looks.
The Wildkittens (22-1) advance to the district finals against Wapakoneta (18-6) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Paulding High School.
“They (Defiance) have improved so much since December, we knew this wasn’t going to be a pushover,” Bath coach Greg Mauk said.
In the first district semifinal of the night, Wapakoneta knocked off Wauseon, 48-45.
Bath led 20-17 at the half, as Defiance controlled the tempo early on with its methodical offense.
At halftime, Bath was 8 of 26 from the field and 1 of 11 on 3-pointers.
By the end of three quarters, Bath was shooting 1 of 18 on threes.
So with the game tied at 28, with just under two minutes left in the third quarter, Maddie Dackin and Cassie Best both drove inside for layups.
That gave Bath a 32-28 lead after three quarters. It also jump started a 10-0 run to put Bath ahead 38-28.
“Our shots weren’t falling and we had to find the gaps in the zone,” Maddie Dackin said. “We reversed the ball and it was easier to get the ball inside.”
Dackin’s driving layup and foul shot gave Bath a 44-30 lead, which capped a 16-2 run, with 4:42 to go.
“They had that 2-3 zone and we were back on our heels,” Mauk said. “We also had a poor shooting night and I talked at halftime about attacking the gaps. And how about Maddie Dackin the second half?”
Defiance was led by freshman point guard Emily Poling and 6-2 senior Laura Schrag, both with 10 points.
Smith’s defensive effort and on the boards helped keep Defiance away from the paint. It also gave Bath a 35-30 edge on the boards.
“Bri played awesome,” Dackin said.
Wapakoneta 48,
Wauseon 45
Maddi Stiles hustled and dove all over the floor en route to scoring 15 points, while 6-foot-1 Riley Culver had 13 points, 12 rebounds and a block.
Megan Watt added 10 points for the Redskins.
Culver established the inside game for the Redskins. She also scored six points during a critical 7-1 run in the final quarter when Wapakoneta pulled out to a 39-34 lead.
Culver’s layup gave the Redskins the lead to stay, 35-34, with 4:02 to go.
“That was one of her (Culver) best performances,” Wapakoneta coach Rusty Allen said. “At halftime, we challenged our post players a little bit. In the first half they were having a rough time of it. But I think she (Culver) really picked up the intensity.”
Added Culver, “My goal was 12 rebounds. My last game was 11. I had a small defender on me and I wanted to take advantage of it.
Wapakoneta (18-8) used its 2-3 and 3-2 zones to frustrate Wauseon early. The Redskins led 21-9 with 1:44 left in the second quarter. But Wauseon scored the final eight points of the half to get within 23-17 at the half.
Wauseon ended its season 18-6.
Overall, the Redskins’ zone pushed Wauseon out far from their normal shooting range. Natalie Koenig had 15 points for Wauseon, three under her average. She had four 3-pointers. Sariah Yackee scored 23 points.
“We wanted to push them out and we didn’t want them to get to the paint and score,” Allen said. “They had three girls who could get to the basket very well and we wanted to get that weak-side defense and if they make a few threes, they make a few threes.”
Wapakoneta made its foul shots down the stretch, including Stiles hitting 6 of 9 in the final quarter. The 5-2 junior Stiles also had five rebounds and hit 8 of 11 at the line.
“I can’t say enough about her (Stiles). She does so much on the floor that doesn’t show up on stats,” Allen said. “She could get a lot more accolades if people simply just watched her instead of going by stats. She’s 100 percent offense and defense. She doesn’t slow down.”
