Hardwood Heroes
Athens Bulldogs battle to playoff victory over Waverly Tigers
By: Luke Schmitt
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JACKSON, Ohio (WOUB) – The Athens Lady Bulldogs emerged victorious against the Waverly Tigers in the first round of the playoffs on Thursday, February 15th, winning 62-52. The Athens Lady Bulldogs were recently crowned TVC-Ohio champions, and they rolled into the first round of the playoffs with confidence and momentum.
It was a slow start to the first quarter for the Lady Bulldogs, but they turned on the heat and rattled in three straight three-pointers within the final three minutes of the first quarter. Olivia Smart had 14 points and five rebounds for Athens, and she was a key contributor to Athens’s 21-11 lead after one-quarter of play.
Waverly had a slight lead early in the first quarter, but Athens stood strong on defense. The Tigers played a speedy game with a fast tempo on offense, but the Bulldogs were able to pounce on the ball and finish the game with 14 steals.
The Lady Bulldogs kept their foot on the gas and outscored the Tigers 17-9 in the second quarter. Asa Holcombe was the leading scorer for Athens tonight, and she finished with 15 of her 19 points in the first half of the game. Holcombe was the hot hand for Athens, and she finished with six rebounds and three assists on top of her impressive scoring night.
Athens led Waverly 38 to 20 at halftime, but Waverly made impressive strides for a comeback. Tigers guard Caris Risner finished with 24 points, and Waverly outscored Athens 12-8 in the third quarter and 20-16 in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers cut the Athens lead to 10 points, but they could not slow down the Lady Bulldogs forward, Quinn Banks, who scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half of the game. The Bulldogs held off the Tigers as time wound down, and they escaped Jackson with a playoff win.
Next week, the Lady Bulldogs will travel to take on Circleville in the next round of the playoffs. Circleville defeated Vinton County 47-28 to advance to the next round of the playoffs, and they previously defeated Athens earlier this season, 62-37. Athens will seek to win in a crucial rematch that will determine the rest of their season.