Kennedie Doup banked in a deep three-pointer to give the 12th-seeded Olentangy girls basketball team a lead early in the fourth quarter, but it didn’t last long as visiting and 34th-seeded Logan closed the game on a 12-4 run to secure a 52-44 Division I district semifinal win Wednesday night in Lewis Center.
Both teams played well in spurts … the Braves had the first solid stretch and the Lady Chiefs had the last.
Dani Beidelman connected on a pair of inside hoops and Doup hit a three as Olentangy raced out to an early 9-5 lead.
Doup hit another three as the Braves took a 14-13 edge into the second quarter, but the Chiefs outscored them 18-10 the rest of the half to take a 31-24 lead into the break. Keely Fickel knocked down a pair of threes during the stretch and Brooklin Harris hit a runner at the buzzer.
Logan’s Avery Thompson opened the second half with a hoop and, after Jonna Spohn answered for Olentangy, Harris hit a pair of free throws to make it a 37-26 game with 4:48 left in the third.
That’s when the Braves went to work, closing the quarter on an 11-2 run to make it a two-point game, 39-37, after three. Paige Pawlikowski came off the bench to score six key points and Doup hit another three during the spurt.
Doup’s fourth triple of the night gave Olentangy the lead early in the fourth quarter, but Logan’s Abbie Dicken scored inside off a nice find from Thompson to regain the lead with 5:41 left — an advantage it maintained the rest of the way.
After Doup had a three rim in and out, Harris split a pair at the line to expand the Chiefs’ slim lead to two, 42-40 with 2:44 left.
Harris was fouled darting to the hoop on the ensuing possession as well and, after making the first, missed the second. Ella Guthrie was there for the offensive rebound, though, and was fouled on her put-back attempt. She made both free throws to balloon the lead to 45-41 with just over a minute left.
After Guthrie hit another two free throws, Olentangy’s Isabelle Walters connected on a three-pointer to make it a 51-44 game with 18.4 seconds left, but that was as close as it would get.
With the Braves forced to foul, Harris split a pair at the charity stripe to smooth out the scoring summary.
Next up, Logan will take on third-seeded Reynoldsburg in Saturday’s district final. Tip is set for 7 p.m. in Reynoldsburg.
FROM TUESDAY
Katie Neuhart poured in a game-high 26 points, nearly outscoring visiting Mansfield Temple Christian all by herself, as Delaware Christian notched a 38-28 non-league win Tuesday night in Delaware.
Neuhart had a double-double, adding 10 rebounds to her point total, while Emily Good, Anne Good and Elizabeth Ringley added four points apiece.
