WILLARD, Ohio — Kennadie Goth made it when it mattered.
After misfiring on a pair of virtually uncontested layups in the final two minutes, Shelby’s junior guard hit a jumper from just inside the foul line as time expired to lift the Whippets to a thrilling 58-57 win over Richland County rival Ontario in the Division II district semifinals Thursday at Robert L. Haas Gymnasium.
Fourth-seeded Shelby (19-6) will play No. 1 Bellevue at 7 p.m. Saturday in Willard for a district title and a berth in the Sweet 16. Bellevue dispatched No. 3 Upper Sandusky 59-53 in Thursday’s late game.
“I was frustrated after I missed those shots earlier in the quarter. I’m really hard on myself, so it was kind of hard for me to block that out,” said Goth, who finished with a team-high 18 points. “I wanted to make up for that because I knew I potentially could have lost us the game by missing two bunnies.”
High Drama: Goth’s last-second heroics wouldn’t have been necessary were it not for Ontario’s NaShail Shelby. The sophomore wing calmly knocked down a 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds to play, capping a stunning 14-4 run — the Whippets led 52-43 with 4:29 remaining — and giving the Warriors (16-9) a 57-56 lead.
Shelby coach Natalie Lantz immediately signaled for a timeout with 6.5 seconds remaining to draw up the final play. Chelsea Barnd triggered the sequence, inbounding the ball to Goth near the free throw line. Goth raced up the floor and into the key, where Ontario’s Emily Yeager stepped up to contest the shot. Both Goth and Yeager crashed to the floor as the shot rattled in.
“We wanted to get the ball in to Kenna. She was the first option,” Lantz said. “Chelsea made a great pass to Kenna and she attacked. They didn’t stop her until she had that jump shot in the key and it went in.”
Back and Forth: The game featured four ties and six lead changes. Ontario led by as many as seven points twice in the second quarter before Shelby closed the period on an 8-2 run to cut the Warriors’ lead to 31-30 at the half.
The Whippets took a 34-33 lead early in the third on back-to-back layups by Goth and Maddi Fidler, but Ontario responded with a 6-0 run to take a 39-34 advantage on Amanda Nething’s layup with 4:35 to play in the quarter. Shelby closed the period on a 10-2 run and led 44-41 going to the fourth.
“There were a lot of swings throughout the game,” Ontario coach Sarah Krichbaum said. “We got the lead and extended it in the first quarter and they battled back. Then in the second half they went on a couple of runs and we answered.
“It was a great game. (Goth) hit a tough shot and we came up a point short. You hear it all the team, but it’s unfortunate somebody had to lose a game like this.”
Foul Troubles: Nething, who scored a career-high 28 points in Ontario’s sectional final win over Norwalk, was whistled for her second foul with 32.6 remaining in the first quarter and sat out the entire second. She picked up her third and fourth fouls in the third quarter but played almost the entire fourth.
“We had some other girls step up,” Krichbaum said. “Amanda gives us so much intensity on the boards, but I thought Madeline Collins and NaShail did a good job picking up the slack and defending their big kids down low.”
Leaders: Barnd and Sienna King each had 12 points for the Whippets, while Fiddler added 10. Yeager led Ontario with a game-high 24 points while Shelby had 19, 12 of which came from the free throw line.
Three-Peat: Shelby beat Ontario for the third time this year after sweeping the regular season series. The Whippets won the first two meeting by five and eight points, respectively, but had their hands full all night Thursday.
“The first two times we played them, it wasn’t as close as it was tonight,” Goth said. “They kept getting better throughout the season. They are becoming a great team.”
Redemption: The Whippets had a chance to win a share of the Northern Ohio League title, but fell to Bellevue 55-44 on Feb. 13. Bellevue swept the season series and won the NOL title.
“It’s going to take our best effort,” Goth said. “We are growing and getting better every day.”
