SA girls advance to semifinal

CHURUBUSCO — The Starfires cruised to a 23-point win on Jan. 25.

Tuesday, with the season on the line, they got more of a challenge.

And they lived to play another day.

The South Adams High School girls basketball team trailed to start the fourth quarter but outscored the Churubusco Eagles 14-7 in the final eight minutes for a 51-45 victory in the Class 2A Sectional 36 tournament opener.

The Starfires (14-9) advance to the first semifinal Friday against the Blackford Bruins (5-17). South Adams defeated the Bruins 41-22 on Nov. 12.

South Adams had a 13-6 lead after the first quarter and weathered a storm in the second quarter to cling to a one-point advantage at halftime. A 13-11 edge in the third period put the Eagles (5-18) on top, 38-37. But the Starfires took the lead in the fourth and gradually pulled away for the six-point win.

Lexi Dellinger and Calyssa Lehman both scored 14 points for South Adams, which got 10 points from Sydney Pierce and seven points from Madi Wurster. Kayla LeFever tallied four points while Shaelynn Bowman chipped in two points.



Trio lead Tribe

ARCANUM, Ohio — Three players reached double figures Tuesday as the Fort Recovery girls basketball team defeated the Franklin Monroe Jets 45-33.

Division III No. 6 Fort Recovery (13-1), which never trailed in the game, led 11-4 after the first quarter and pushed the advantage to 23-15 heading into halftime. A solid defensive effort in the third quarter put the Tribe on top 36-20.

Jocelyn Kaiser, who today signed a national letter of intent to play for Capital University, had a game-high 15 points. Whitney Will — she also signed, with University of Saint Francis — followed with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Grace Thien chipped in 11 points, including a 3-of-6 effort from beyond the 3-point line.

Kiah Wendel added four points and Carley Stone scored two.

Kinsey Goins and Audrey Cable led the Jets with 10 points apiece.



Patriots top Jets

Jay County’s boys swim team defeated the Adams Central Jets on Tuesday, 134-111.

Christopher McDowell was the lone dual winner for the Patriots (4-9), who have won four of their last nine dual meets after an 0-4 start. McDowell won the 200-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke events. He also joined Chase McFarland, Tayler Smeltzer and Garrett Campbell to win the 200 medley relay.

Campbell and Smeltzer also picked up individual victories. Campbell won the 100 freestyle, while Smeltzer was first in the 100 breaststroke. Gabe Blankenship and Orlando Castro were first and second respectively in diving.

McFarland, a freshman, joined the 50-second club in the 100 freestyle, during which he finished third.

Times and diving scores were not available.



Chief 6th split

YORKTOWN — East Jay Middle School’s sixth grade girls basketball teams split with the Yorktown Tigers on Tuesday.

The A team edged the Tigers 21-19, and the B team lost 19-10.

Renna Schwieterman and Olivia Waters accounted for all of the A team’s 21 points. Schwieterman totaled 14 points, while Waters chipped in seven.

Destiny McManus scored eight points to lead the B squad in the defeat. Kylie Cross scored two points.

The A team moves to 7-1, while the B squad falls to 2-2 on the year.