Lady Panthers win McDonald’s Holiday Tournament title

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JAMESTOWN — On a very rainy night before the night before Christmas, the Miami Trace Lady Panthers took on the Rams from Greeneview High School in the McDonald’s Holiday Tournament championship game Wednesday.

Miami Trace was able to squeak out a 34-33 win in a very well-played, hard-fought game.

Miami Trace junior Samantha Ritenour was named to the all-tournament team after leading the Lady Panthers with eight points and seven rebounds Wednesday.

Sophomore Tanner Bryant was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Bryant had four rebounds, three assists and scored five points.

Miami Trace improves to 10-2 on the season with the victory.

For Greeneview (now 9-2 on the year), senior Kristen Combs and junior Sydnie Sonneman were named to the all-tournament team.

Combs was the game’s leading scorer Wednesday with 20 points, including four of her team’s six three-point field goals.

Sonneman had six points, hitting Greeneview’s other two treys.

In Wednesday’s consolation game, London defeated Madison Plains, 54-41.

London senior Mackenzie Minner and Madison Plains senior Macy McCollister were named to the all-tournament team.

Miami Trace took the early 4-0 lead.

However, Greeneview went on a 10-0 run to hold a 10-4 lead at the end of the first period.

Miami Trace battled back and took a 15-14 lead with just over three and a half minutes to play in the first half.

The Lady Panthers held a 17-15 lead at the intermission.

With three threes from Combs in the third quarter, including a buzzer-beater, Greeneview clawed back to take a 28-25 lead after three.

Greeneview led by as many as five points on a three by Sonneman with four minutes remaining.

Miami Trace had buckets from Bryant, Kyla Johnston and Reisinger to take a 32-31 lead with 2:15 to play.

Alexis Schwartz got free for a layup for two of her six points in the game with just over one minute remaining.

Combs made a layup for Greeneview to make it 34-33 with 44 seconds remaining.

Down the stretch, Miami Trace missed the front end of a one and bonus with 26 seconds to play.

Greeneview was tagged with an offensive foul for a turnover coming out of a time out with 8.4 seconds left on the scoreboard clock.

Greeneview promptly got a held ball call just one second later.

Finally, with 1.1 seconds to play, Greeneview inbounded the ball, which was grabbed by Fliehman as the horn sounded to end this exciting holiday tournament title game.

“They are a great team with great coaches,” Miami Trace head coach Ben Ackley said of Greeneview. “They have a great program that’s been good for a lot of years and will no doubt be good for many more years.

“They were very small and scrappy,” Ackley said. “It was a bad match-up for us. We played way more zone tonight than we feel comfortable playing, for the most part. But, I thought our kids did okay.”

Miami Trace sophomore Victoria Fliehman made her Miami Trace debut after sitting out the first 11 games of the season. She got the start and had four points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.

“Victoria was a nervous wreck tonight,” Ackley said. “She’s waited two months to play. She’s only going to get better.

“I thought tonight was a complete team effort,” Ackley said. “We didn’t have one kid in double figures. I thought our kids made plays when they had to make them. We had kids step up and that’s been the deal with this team all year; people step up at the right times and make plays.

“Whenever you don’t play your best basketball and still beat a team like Greeneview, that says a lot,” Ackley said. “I just couldn’t be any more proud of our kids.”

“We told our girls before the game that it was going to be a battle all night long,” Greeneview head coach Tim Hoelle said. “We haven’t had a game like that all season where the refs let the hand-checks go and they were letting fouls down low go. I actually liked that. I thought it was good for us.

“Give credit to a good team,” Hoelle said. “Trace fought back; they executed what they needed to do down the stretch and we didn’t. I thought that was the major difference in the game.”

Miami Trace has one game remaining in 2015 and that is coming up Monday at Jonathan Alder at 6 p.m. (j-v starting time).

SCORE BY QUARTERS

MT 4 13 8 9 — 34

G 10 5 13 5 — 33

MIAMI TRACE — Kyla Johnston 1-0-2; Cassidy Lovett 0-1-1; Hanna Reisinger 2 (1)-0-7; Harmonee Napier 0-0-0; Victoria Fliehman 2-0-4; Tanner Bryant 3-0-5; Alexis Schwartz 2-2-6; Samantha Ritenour 4-0-8. TOTALS — 14 (1)-3-34. Free throw shooting: 3 of 7 for 43 percent. Three-point field goal: Reisinger. Combined field goal shooting: 14 of 35 for 40 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 1 of 4 for 25 percent. Turnovers: 10.

GREENEVIEW — Kristen Combs 4 (4)-0-20; Frankie Fife 1-0-2; Sabrina Saunders 1-0-2; Olivia Maxwell 0-0-0; Emily Rinehart 0-1-1; Jenna Basinger 0-0-0; Faith Strickle 1-0-2; Sydnie Sonneman 0 (2)-0-6. TOTALS — 7 (6)-1-33. Free throw shooting: 1 of 4 for 25 percent. Three-point field goals: Combs, 4; Sonneman, 2. Combined field goal shooting: 13 of 34 for 38 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 6 of 18 for 33 percent. Turnovers: 11.

Miami Trace sophomore Victoria Fliehman (13) drives between two defenders for Greeneview in the championship game of the McDonald’s Holiday Tournament Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015 at Greeneview High School. Fliehman made her Miami Trace debut Wednesday, with four points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal, which came at the very end of the game as Greeneview was inbounding the ball in a thrilling 34-33 Lady Panthers’ victory.
http://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/12/web1_VictoriaFliehmanMTdebut21232015.jpgMiami Trace sophomore Victoria Fliehman (13) drives between two defenders for Greeneview in the championship game of the McDonald’s Holiday Tournament Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015 at Greeneview High School. Fliehman made her Miami Trace debut Wednesday, with four points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal, which came at the very end of the game as Greeneview was inbounding the ball in a thrilling 34-33 Lady Panthers’ victory.

2015 McDONALD’S HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS — The Miami Trace Lady Panthers won an exciting game against Greeneview to capture the title Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015 at Greeneview High School. (front, l-r); Alexis Schwartz, Kyla Johnston, Harmonee Napier; (back, l-r); Samantha Ritenour, Tori Riley, Victoria Fliehman, Hanna Reisinger, Morgan Miller, Cassidy Lovett, Becca Ratliff, Rachael Campbell and Tanner Bryant.
http://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/12/web1_MTgirlsMcDonaldsHolidayTournamentchamps12232015.jpg2015 McDONALD’S HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS — The Miami Trace Lady Panthers won an exciting game against Greeneview to capture the title Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015 at Greeneview High School. (front, l-r); Alexis Schwartz, Kyla Johnston, Harmonee Napier; (back, l-r); Samantha Ritenour, Tori Riley, Victoria Fliehman, Hanna Reisinger, Morgan Miller, Cassidy Lovett, Becca Ratliff, Rachael Campbell and Tanner Bryant.

2015 McDONALD’S ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM — (l-r); Mackenzie Minner, London; Macy McCollister, Madison Plains; Kirsten Combs and Sydnie Sonneman, Greeneview; Samantha Ritenour, Miami Trace and tournament MVP, Tanner Bryant, Miami Trace.
http://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2015/12/web1_McDonaldsgirlsAlltournamentteam12232015.jpg2015 McDONALD’S ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM — (l-r); Mackenzie Minner, London; Macy McCollister, Madison Plains; Kirsten Combs and Sydnie Sonneman, Greeneview; Samantha Ritenour, Miami Trace and tournament MVP, Tanner Bryant, Miami Trace.

By Chris Hoppes

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Reach Chris Hoppes at 740-335-3611, ext. 1104, or on Twitter @choppes1

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