Sports
Playoff Live Blog: Trimble Boys, Athens Girls In Action
By: Steve Uhlmann
Posted on:
The road has finally come to an end.
For the lucky teams to make the district finals and semi-finals, it's now their turn to play on the big stage.
Tonight, the Athens Lady Bulldogs will take to the floor looking for revenge against the Jackson Ironladies at the Convo, while the Trimble Tomcats boys team will get their first crack at the playoffs against Miller in the Meigs sectional.
This blog will be updated throughout the night as the action unfolds. For up-to-the-second alerts, follow us on Twitter.
Here is the schedule for tonight.
Division II Girls District Finals: Fairfield Union vs. Miami Trace, 6:15 p.m. Convocation Center Athens, Ohio.
Division IV Boys Meigs Sectional: No. 6 Miller vs. No. 3 Trimble, 8:00 p.m. Meigs High School Pomeroy, Ohio.
Division II Girls District Finals: Jackson vs. Athens, 8:15 p.m. Convocation Center Athens, Ohio.
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UPDATE 6:51– Play is underway at the Convo between Fairfield Union and Miami Trace. The first eight minutes of the game featured the two teams feeling each other out, with Miami Trace being the aggressors and holding an 8-5 lead after one quarter. In the second, Fairfield Union put their pre-game jitters behind them and went on a 9-1 run to start the second quarter. Miami Trace then answered with an 11-2 run of their own to take the lead, however Fairfield Union used their press to push out to a 24-20 lead at halftime. Miami Trace's Deidre McKay has a game-high seven points after one quarter, while Fairfield Union is led by Courtney Hanna and her six points.
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UPDATE 6:55– In D-IV boys sectional action at Meigs High School, Eastern holds a 24-10 lead over Southern at halftime. It's been a rough go for the Tornadoes who, shot 0-for-16 in the second quarter. Kirk Pullins has five points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles while Chase Cook leads all scorers with nine points.
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UPDATE 7:08– Things nearly fell apart for the Lady Falcons of Fairfield Union in the third, as they were shutout by a stout Lady Panthers defense for nearly the entire third quarter. Despite this, they were only outscored in the quarter 7-2 and trail by a slim margin of 27-26 with one quarter to play. They will need to take advantage of the shots Miami Trace is giving them in the high post, as the size of the Lady Panthers is just too much down low. Going to be a fun ending here.
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UPDATE 7:34 – Have to give credit to Fairfield Union. Endured a rough third quarter but fought through to put up a huge fourth quarter an 46-32 win over Miami Trace for the Division II Girls District Title. With the score tied 28-28 and six minutes to play, Fairfield Union then went on a 18-5 run to finish the game. The spark came from sophomore forward Courtney Bernard, who scored six-straight points to power the Lady Falcons ahead 34-28. Fairfield Union will now move on to play the winner of the Athens-Jackson game at 8:15 p.m.
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UPDATE 8:27 -Unlike the first meeting between these two teams, the first quarter was not kind to the Athens Lady Bulldogs. The Jackson Ironladies are flexing their defensive muscles, forcing turnovers and preventing Dominique Doseck from getting open looks. She has just two points in the first quarter. Like in the first meeting, Jackson's Lydia Poe has been a force down low. Keeping her off the boards will be key for the Bulldogs going forward. It's 8-4 Jackson after one quarter.
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UPDATE 8:44– We've reached the half at the Convo, and the Ironladies are holding on barely with a 18-17 lead on Athens. The game has become a battle between the two centers, with Jackson's Lydia Poe leading with points while Athens' Emma Stanley has a game-high nine points and six rebounds. Athens went on a 7-0 run to get back in the game, and it has been a total team effort. Doseck still only has two points, so it will be interesting to see if she can get back in the game.
Boys action in Division IV has resumed at Meigs, and Trimble and Miller are locked in a dead heat through one quarter with the Falcons holding a slim 17-16 lead.
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UPDATE 8:53– The Miller Falcons continue to hold the Trimble Tomcats at bay, as they are still up 27-26 at the half. A big challenge for the Falcons to overcome will be losing guard Hunter Starlin. He leads all scorers with 12 points however he left the game midway through the second quarter with an ankle injury.
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UPDATE 9:04– Athens got their first breakthrough when they pushed ahead 23-20 early in the third quarter. Stanley continues to shine, as she is up to 13 points. Dominique Doseck is finally finding separation, as she was able to score seven points in the third to bring her total to nine. Stepping up for Jackson has been guard Madison Ridout, who has overcome early foul trouble to increase her point total to eight. She had a pair of big three-pointers that stopped Athens' momentum. It's 30-30 heading into the last quarter. Buckle up, folks.