RANDY HISNER
WZBD.com
The Heritage Patriots had trouble with two things in their semifinal matchup with Southern Wells in the girls’ ACAC tournament in the Raiders’ gym Friday: turnovers and even-numbered quarters.
The Patriots (1-15) turned the ball over 36 times in a lopsided 68-31 loss. Twelve of those turnovers came in the second quarter, in which the Raiders (15-4) overpowered the Pats, 18-3. That shellacking broke open a tight game that saw Southern Wells holding a slim 13-12 lead after the first period.
Heritage woke up a bit in the third quarter, battling the Raiders to only a 16-12 deficit, but they reverted to their second quarter form to get pounded 21-4 in the final frame.
The Patriots’ Olivia Lybarger scored the first points of the game on a three-pointer from well beyond the top of the key at the 6:49 mark. Southern Wells center Ashlie Needler drove for a bucket just nine seconds later, but then Audra Bickel hit a jumper on the right baseline to give the Pats what would turn out to be their biggest lead of the game at 5-2.
Heritage’s last lead came with 1:42 left in the first quarter when Lybarger hit her second three-pointer, making it 12-11. The Raiders went back in front for good with Cadence Watkins’ buzzer-beating layup.
Kaylee Davis’s three buckets and Kyah Thomas’s pair of three-pointers led the way for the Raiders in their dominant second-quarter performance as they took a 31-15 lead into the locker room.
In the third quarter, Lybarger scored five points and teammate Danica Fuller hit three of four free throws, but Southern Wells got six points from Kenzie Paxson and four more from Davis to extend their lead to 47-27.
It was all Raiders all the time in the final quarter. The Patriots did manage to have their fewest number of turnovers in any quarter, with six, but they hit only one of eleven field goal attempts, and the Raiders, who had eight players score in the period, just kept pulling away.
The Patriots were 8-for-30 on two-pointers (27%), 3-for-13 on threes (23%), and 6-for-8 on free throws (75%). The Raiders went 20-for-48 on twos (42%), 5-for-18 on threes (28%), and 13-for-20 on free throws (65%).
Lybarger led Heritage in scoring with 11 points. Bickel had eight, Fuller and Addison Meyer five, and Audrey Meyer two.
Needler led the Raiders with 14, and Davis had 13. Thomas tallied nine, Callie Ripperger eight.
Southern Wells will take on Bluffton (71-24 winners over Jay County Friday) in the tournament championship game at 6:00 P.M. Saturday at South Adams.
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