FRANKFORT — The Miami Trace Lady Panthers had little trouble in their opening Sectional tournament game Thursday, rolling to a comfortable 52-31 win over the Braves of Logan Elm.
Miami Trace, now 21-2, will play Chillicothe Saturday at 1 p.m. back at Adena High School.
The Lady Panthers were able to play everyone on the squad in this game.
Senior Kyla Johnston led Miami Trace with 11 points.
Sophomore Tanner Bryant returned from an injury to score 10 points.
Juniors Hanna Reisinger and Samantha Ritenour each scored eight points.
Emily Hardin and Jill Congrove shared top scoring honors for Logan Elm, each with seven points.
Miami Trace took an 11-2 lead to start the game with scoring from Reisinger (3), Bryant (3), Cassidy Lovett (1), Ritenour (2) and Johnston (2).
At the end of the first quarter, Miami Trace was in front, 18-8.
Miami Trace hit four three-point field goals in the second quarter, extending their lead to 34-19 at the half.
The Lady Panthers had a good shooting night, hitting 47 percent overall (20 of 42) and 46 percent from three-point range (6 of 13).
By contrast, Logan Elm shot 36 percent from the field (12 of 33) and 30 percent from behind the three-point line (4 of 13).
The scoring slowed for the Lady Panthers in the second half, however, the defense was playing every bit as tenaciously as it had been in the first half.
Miami Trace won the third quarter, 10-8 to lead 44-27 after three quarters.
An 8-4 fourth quarter in favor of Miami Trace gave the Lady Panthers the 52-31 victory.
“Our kids did a good job,” Miami Trace head coach Ben Ackley said. “We were really concerned about the energy level and our conditioning. We haven’t been able to get in the gym the last couple of days. I thought they did a good job.
“We went deep into our rotation to give them all a break,” Ackley said.
“Hanna Reisinger hasn’t scored as much lately,” Ackley said. “She’s such a pivotal player for everything we do. She guards the other team’s best perimeter player at all times. She handles the ball for us, gets us in our sets. It was nice to see her knock down some perimeter shots. It was nice to see Sam Ritenour hit some shots, as well.
“It was good to see Tanner bounce back,” Ackley said. “The last couple of days, she’s worked out at the ‘Y’. She hasn’t done anything (as intense) as this in 10 days.
“Cassidy Lovett continues to get better each and every game,” Ackley said. “She’s getting better applying defensive pressure. The Congrove kid can flat play. They have a couple of kids that score the ball very well.
“We’ll move forward and see if we can get another one against Chillicothe,” Ackley said.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MT 18 16 10 8 — 52
LE 8 11 8 4 — 31
MIAMI TRACE — Kyla Johnston 4 (1)-0-11; Cassidy Lovett 0 (1)-1-4; Becca Ratliff 1 (1)-0-5; Hanna Reisinger 1 (2)-0-8; Tori Evans 0-0-0; Morgan Miller 0-0-0; Harmonee Napier 0-0-0; Victoria Fliehman 0-0-0; Tanner Bryant 2 (1)-3-10; Rachael Campbell 1-0-2; Alexis Schwartz 2-0-4; Samantha Ritenour 3-2-8; Olivia Wolffe 0-0-0. TOTALS — 14 (6)-6-52. Free throw shooting: 6 of 10 for 60 percent. Three-point field goals: Reisinger, 2; Johnston, Lovett, Bryant, Ratliff. Combined field goal shooting: 20 of 42 for 47 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 6 of 13 for 46 percent. Turnovers: 10. Rebounds: 17 (2 offensive).
LOGAN ELM — Lexi Long 0-0-0; McKenzie Jones 0-0-0; Jessica Willard 0-0-0; Rhianna Lucas 2-2-6; Haley Paul 0-0-0; Lauryn Vanhoose 0 (2)-0-6; Jill Congrove 3-1-7; Madison Haupt 1-0-2; Maria Bologer 0-0-0; Emily Hardin 2 (1)-0-7; Destiny Alderman 0 (1)-0-3. TOTALS — 8 (4)-3-31. Free throw shooting: 3 of 4 for 75 percent. Three-point field goals: Vanhoose, 2; Alderman, Hardin. Combined field goal shooting: 12 of 33 for 36 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 4 of 13 for 30 percent. Turnovers: 18.
