Times photo/D.J. Undewood
Going to the hoop
Riverdale’s Morgan Spiegel drives to the basket for a layup on Thursday night. Spiegel scored 10 points on the night.

Big second half lifts Falcons into regional title game
By KENDRICK JESIONOWSKI
Times sports editor
ELIDA - Basketball coaches often preach that defense wins championships.
And thanks to their suffocating defense, the Riverdale Lady Falcons are one step closer to a second regional championship in three seasons.
The Falcons, trailing by eight points at halftime, stymied Pettisville and its leading scorer Erica King in the second 16 minutes in rallying for a 43-39 win in Division IV regional semifinal action at Elida on Thursday night.
With the score knotted at 39-39, Lacey Kessler tallied the winning basket with 15 seconds left in the game.
The Falcons, who improve to 19-5 on the season, advance to the regional finals at 7 p.m. Saturday where they will take on Minster, which advanced with a win over Pandora-Gilboa in the second game.
Ashley Fox led three Falcons in double figures with 14 points. Kessler added 12 and Morgan Spiegel chipped in with 10 points, with eight of those coming in the third quarter.
Spiegel said it’s been fun getting back to the regional finals.
“It’s really exciting. I’ve been here two other times but never really played, so it’s a big step and I really like it,” she said.

Times photo/D.J. Underwood
Lining up a three
Kenton’s Mark Fackler fires up a shot during the Wildcats district game against Celina on Wednesday night at Ohio Northern. Fackler ended up with four points in the game, which was won by Celina 58-53.

Wildcats run out of gas against Celina
By KENDRICK JESIONOWSKI
Times sports editor
ADA - The goal of Kenton Wildcat coach Terry Rowe entering every season is to have his team playing its best basketball at tournament time.
And despite the fact that Celina defeated the Wildcats 58-53 in the district semifinals on Wednesday night at Ohio Northern, it would be hard for most Kenton fans to argue their team didn’t play its best basketball in two tournament games.
Kenton finishes its season with an 8-14 record and having made its second straight district appearance for the first time in school history.
“We don’t have much tradition at our school when it comes to tournament time and to be able to cut down nets two years in a row, I don’t know if that’s ever happened before,” Kenton coach Terry Rowe said. “It’s good that our players stuck with it through some tough losses this year. We beat the number one seed last Friday and we came here and played Celina and fought them tooth and nail.”
Maty Mauk had a team-high 17 points to lead the Wildcats, including four fourth-quarter three-pointers to help his team stay in the game after falling behind in the third quarter. Curtis Heydinger added 12 points and Max Morrison chipped in with 10 for Kenton.

Riverdale's Kessler chosen second team All-Northwest District
Riverdale standout Lacey Kessler was named to the second team All-Northwest District Division III girls basketball team released by the Associated Press on Wednesday.
Kessler a 5-11 junior averaged 18.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in leading the Falcons to a 15-5 regular season and a share of their fifth straight North Central Conference crown.
Receiving special mention recognition was Falcon three-point specialist Ashley Fox. Fox, who averaged 11.9 points per contest, set a Riverdale school record by making 62 three-point goals this season.

Times photo/D.J. Underwood
Looking for three
Ada’s Erik Grimslid shoots a three pointer over a Kalida defender on Tuesday night.

Bulldogs bid for a district championship falls short
By KENDRICK JESIONOWSKI
Times sports editor
ELIDA - If Ada coach Chris Sautter could take some solace from his team’s 59-44 setback to Kalida in the district semifinals on Tuesday night, it was that his undermanned team gave him a solid effort for 32 minutes.
Because of that effort, the Bulldogs, who after falling behind by 11 points after the first quarter, were able to stay within 8 to 10 points for much if the next two quarters. However, they just didn’t have enough in the end as Kalida was finally able to pull away in the fourth quarter to punch its ticket to the district final.
The Wildcats, 19-2, advance to face Continental on Friday night at 7 p.m. The 21-2 Pirates advanced with a 39-35 win over Arlington in the first game of the night at the Elida Fieldhouse.
Ada, which had lost to Kalida 58-26 in early January, ends its season with an 8-14 record.
“We competed,” Sautter said. “In the first half they had 10 points off offensive rebounds and that killed us. At the other end I didn’t think we did a bad job executing offensively. We got some shots in the paint. It just didn’t seem like anything would fall. You compound not being able to finish with not boxing out and it puts you behind the eight ball.

Times photo/Lonnie McMillan
Back to regionals
Riverdale’s Morgan Spiegel and Christy Fox hold up the district championship trophy after their win over Fostoria St. Wendelin on Saturday.

Riverdale girls prepare for regional semifinal
By LONNIE McMILLAN
Times News Bureau
ELIDA - Making the regional tournament has become commonplace for Riverdale, while its opponent Pettisville is making school history.
The Falcons are competing in their third regional semifinal game in three years, while the Blackbirds are coming off their first ever district championship.
Led by guard Erica King, Pettisville (19-4) will try to add to its list of growing accomplishments by gaining its first regional victory when it takes on Riverdale at 6:15 p.m. Thursday at Elida Fieldhouse.
“We’ve been very successful in the past few years, but this is our first trip to regional in our history,” Pettisville coach Jason Waldvogel said.
King, a 5-5 point guard, is one of only two seniors on the team, and there is no question she is the Blackbirds’ leader, averaging team highs in points (19.6), assists (2.0), steals (2.0), defensive rebounds (2.8), field goal percentage (60.9), 3-point percentage (45.8) and free throw percentage (78.2).
After King, the Blackbirds have seven players who have played every game this season and have averaged between 3 and 7 points per game.
“Erica King is a really nice player in our area and she has a lot of balance behind her,” Waldvogel said. “It’s a combination of some sophomores and juniors and we have one other senior who is a great leader for our team, too.