Lady Lions lose to Panthers in sectional final

It is easy to play the “would have, should have, could have” game in sports, and that has been the case for the Minerva girls basketball team.

At the end of last season, the Lady Lions looked ahead to a promising year with Lillie Stoltzfus joining seniors Kyliegh Lippincott and Ireland Kirkpatrick. But Stoltzfus suffered an injury that kept her from playing this season, costing Minerva a key contributor.

Lippincott was later injured, forcing younger players into larger roles. The effort was there, but the inexperience showed in Minerva’s record and its standing in the Eastern Buckeye Conference.

That was evident Feb. 19 when 12th-seeded Minerva traveled to face No. 7 Maysville in a Division IV East 1 District sectional final and fell 41-31.

The Lady Lions started strong, taking a 14-12 lead after one quarter. But Maysville responded by shutting out Minerva 11-0 in the second quarter to build a 23-14 halftime lead.

Minerva (5-18) matched the Panthers (10-13) in the second half but could not overcome the deficit.

Willa Shick led all scorers with 14 points, hitting four 3-pointers. Miley Fulkerson added nine points. Avery Daniels led Maysville with eight points.

Bowling

The OHSAA Division II East District boys tournament was held Feb. 19 at Legacy Lanes. Minerva did not qualify as a team, but Owen Frazier advanced as an individual.

Frazier posted a 536 series, the ninth-highest of the day. However, only two individuals not on qualifying teams advance to state, and Frazier finished fifth among that group.

In the girls tournament, Minerva placed fourth with a total pinfall of 2,969, 273 pins shy of qualifying. Carrollton (3,248) and Warsaw River View (3,242) earned the two team berths to the state tournament at HP Lanes in Columbus on Feb. 28.

Junior Rylan Klitz and senior Bailey Wood each rolled a 443 series to lead the Lady Lions. Junior Alexis Gonzalez added a 403, and freshman Arianna Loy finished with a 398.

Boys basketball

Minerva had one game last week, traveling to Lake for a nonconference matchup as a tuneup for sectional play.

The Lions entered on a five-game winning streak and jumped to a 20-6 lead after one quarter. But Lake rallied for a 64-58 overtime victory.

The Blue Streaks trimmed the deficit to 34-23 by halftime, cut another eight points in the third quarter and tied the game in the fourth to force overtime. Lake outscored Minerva 10-4 in the extra period.

Skylar Lab led Minerva (12-10) with 17 points. Senior Rowen Hoffee scored 12 before fouling out. Sophomore Lucas Draher led Lake (7-14) with 21 points, including three 3-pointers, and freshman Taden Coblentz added 16.

Girls wrestling

Although full team results were not available, Bailey Hilliard continued her strong season by winning the 110-pound title at the Fourth Annual Carrollton Lady Spearhead Invitational.