ONTARIO, Ohio — The Stockaders put up a blockade around the basket Wednesday night.
Old Fort held Mansfield Christian scoreless for the first 10:33 of the game and rolled to a 67-33 win in the opening game of a Division IV sectional semifinal doubleheader at the O-Rena.
The fifth-seeded Stockaders (17-6) led No. 12 MCS (9-12) 17-0 after the first quarter and 25-0 midway through the second before Mansfield Christian’s Addie Daugherty split a pair of free throws with 5:27 to play in the opening half. The Flames didn’t make a shot from the floor until a Daugherty layup with 4:05 left in the second quarter.
“Our girls don’t have the experience. We’re still a young team,” MCS coach J.R. Wilson said. “Playing against this type of competition is tough for our girls. Old Fort is a very tough team.”
Mansfield Christian had trouble solving Old Fort’s pressure defense. The Flames committed 20 turnovers, resulting in 24 points for the Stockaders.
Mansfield Christian connected on just 7 of 41 field goals for the game and was 0 for 6 from beyond the 3-point arc.
“We held them the first quarter, but they went on a few runs and we struggled to play defense,” Old Fort coach Jenny Miller said. “I would have liked to see us play a little better defense.”
Old Fort led 40-14 at the half and outscored MCS 14-4 in the third for a 54-18 advantage. The Flames closed with their best quarter of the night, outscoring the Stockaders 15-13 in the fourth.
Sohomore guard Allison Adelsperger led Old Fort with a game-high 19 points. Fellow sophomore Peyton Miller had 11 points and eight assists.
Twin Towers
Daugherty, Mansfield Christian’s 5-foot-10 junior center, scored had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Classmate Katie Ritz, a 5-foot-7 wing, had 12 points and 12 boards.
“They have been very consistent all season long,” Wilson said. “Addie and Katie are our team captains and it showed on the court with leadership.
“They were very aggressive on the boards and fought hard.”
Daugherty recently grabbed her 500th career rebound.
“When I scouted them I knew Daugherty was a very good rebounder,” Miller said. “She got to the basket and she can go inside and outside. We knew she was a good rebounder.
“Going into the half she had nine rebounds so we addressed that.”
High Expectations
The Flames will lose just one senior to graduation. Daugherty and Ritz are the headliners in a talented junior class.
“We’ll come back next year with quite a few seniors next year,” Wilson said. “We have high expectations for next year, but once again it (comes back to) the girls and what kind of work they do in the offseason. Trying to turn a program around doesn’t happen overnight.”
