On a night neither team played particularly well with a lead, the Olentangy girls basketball team held on to its edge just long enough to escape with a 40-39 non-league win over visiting Grove City Tuesday night in Lewis Center.
With the game tied 7-7 heading into the second quarter, the Greyhounds used a 7-1 run capped by a bucket from Leah Boswell to take a 14-8 lead with 2:45 left in the first half.
The Braves, thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Bridget Stafford on back-to-back trips, closed the gap in a hurry, though. The second made it 14-14 before Grove City’s Addy Hansen scored off a nice find from Gianna Boyce to make it 16-14 at the break.
The second half was all Olentangy … at least initially. The Braves outscored the Greyhounds 12-0 in the third to take a 26-16 lead into the final eight minutes of action. Danielle Arhin started the run with a put-back bucket before Camryn Cummings buried a triple to put her team up for good.
A Stafford three pushed the lead to 22-16 with 3:45 left in the third before a Stafford floater and two Cummings free throws ballooned the margin to 10 by the end of the quarter.
Olentangy’s Caitlin Ronk hit a three to make it a 34-22 game midway through the fourth, but Grove City used a full-court press to speed things up, force a few turnovers and put the pressure on late.
The Greyhounds got within six, 37-31, when Thea Palmore knocked down a pair from the charity stripe and, after Olivia Kenney hit a three to tighten things up even more, Boswell scored off a Braves turnover to close the gap to a single point, 37-36 with 1:25 left.
Forced to foul, Grove City put Paige Pawlikowski on the line with less than a minute left. She sank both and, even though Boyce hit a corner three at the buzzer, it was enough to help the Braves hold on.
Olentangy Orange 50, Hilliard Darby 47
Jordan Sullivan hit a fourth-quarter three and Ellie Beck knocked down all four of her free throws in the final frame as the Pioneers rallied for a non-league win over the visiting Panthers Tuesday night in Lewis Center.
Orange, which trailed 27-22 at halftime and 39-35 to start the third, outscored Darby 15-8 in the fourth to secure the come-from-behind win.
Sullivan led the charge with a game-best 17 points while Mairin O’Brien had nine and Beck finished with eight.
Tayen Brown led the Panthers with 15 points in the setback.
Westerville Central 54, Buckeye Valley 46
Taylor Hickman poured in a game-best 17 points, Kate Yaussy had 14 and Lana Kreuser finished with 12 to lead the Warhawks to a non-league win over the Barons Tuesday night in Delaware.
BV led 17-9 after a strong first quarter, but Central won the second 11-6 and the third 18-12 to take control.
Ella Hazelrigg scored 15 points to lead the Barons while Kayla Helms finished with 10.
Pickerington North 39, Olentangy Berlin 32, OT
The Bears won each of the final three quarters of regulation, forcing overtime in the process, but the host Panthers won the extra session 9-2 to notch a non-league win Tuesday night in Pickerington.
Kylie Mizer led North with a game-best 19 points while Abbie Bell had 18 for Berlin.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Joel Addo led a balanced attack with 12 points as Olentangy Orange picked up a 60-48 non-league win over host Hilliard Darby Tuesday night.
The Pioneers’ Jack Taylor, Mike McCollum and Aidan King had nine points apiece in the win while Gio Roberts led the Panthers with a game-high 20.
Buckeye Valley 66, Worthington Christian 55
Dylan Thompson and Owen Osborne combined for 41 points — 21 and 20, respectively — as the Barons picked up a key league win over the host Warriors Tuesday night.
BV started fast, jumping out to an 18-10 lead by the end of the first quarter. Worthington Christian ate into its deficit with a 15-13 second, but the Barons used a 21-16 third to pull away.
Troy Scowden backed Thompson and Osborne with 14 points and nine rebounds. He also had a team-best four assists in the win.
