DOLA — Leading 13-12 with six minutes left in the first half, the Upper Scioto Valley girls basketball team turned up the heat on Hardin Northern. The Ram defense used its pressure to force the Polar Bears into turnovers on back-to-back possessions, sparking an 10-2 run that gave them control of the game and propelled them to a 50-30 victory in the Northwest Central Conference matchup.

CELINA — Layne Taylor had a career-high 31 points, including 23 in the first half, to lead the way as Kenton pulled away from Celina 78-48 in a Western Buckeye League girls basketball battle on Thursday night.

MOUNT BLANCHARD — It’s a question the Riverdale girls basketball team’s coaching staff is trying to come up with an answer to: How to avoid the first-quarter stumble. In the Falcons' contest against Hopewell-Loudon on Thursday, the Chieftains raced out to a 22-point first-quarter lead, as the Falcons didn’t score until Brooke Kuenzli’s floater in the post early in the second quarter.

DEGRAFF — Ridgemont held Riverside to one point in the second quarter to take control of the contest on the way to a 42-27 victory in Northwest Central Conference girls basketball action on Thursday.

ADA — Ohio Northern sophomore Christiaan Williams has been named an Associated Press Second Team Little All-American in Div. III Football for his efforts during the 2017 season.

MOUNT BLANCHARD — Riverdale picked up a win over Hopewell-Loudon, but dropped its match against Carey in a dual meet hosted by the Falcons on Wednesday. In their first match of the night, the Falcons defeated Hopewell-Loudon 39-24.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Kenton High School cheerleaders Mackenzie Phillips and Alyssa Mclaughlin will be performing in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida on Jan. 1, 2018.

SPRINGFIELD — Nikki Current’s 24 points paced the Benjamin Logan Lady Raiders as they were able to finish off Springfield Shawnee 55-41 in a cross-division Central Buckeye Conference girls basketball game Wednesday night. The win lifts Ben Logan to 3-7 overall on the season, 1-2 in the CBC.

BELLEFONTAINE — Kenton boys basketball coach Matt McCullough stresses to his team that good defense will lead to point production on the offensive end of the floor. On Tuesday night, the Wildcats proved his point, as they forced Ben Logan into turnovers on seven of the Raiders’ first eight possessions of the second quarter during a 14-2 run that gave Kenton control of the game.

ADA — Holding a 40-28 lead over Ada after three quarters, Riverdale looked to put things away in the fourth for an easy win in Tuesday night’s girls basketball contest. But the Lady Bulldogs put up a fight, going on a 7-2 run to close the gap to seven points before the Falcons regained control for a 60-43 win.