By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

 

WAVERLY — Two stretches that totaled about six minutes proved to be all the time the Adena Lady Warriors needed.

Two scoring bursts over a six-minute period proved to be the difference as Adena beat the Chesapeake Lady Panthers 58-47 Thursday in the Division III district semifinals at Waverly’s Downtown Arena.

Adena used a 14-0 run in the first quarter over a four-minute span to get the lead and then used a 7-2 spurt at the start of the second half to open up a 14-point lead en route to the win.

“The two keys that did us in was the pressure they applied and they played us physical. The two runs were the difference. The second run is the one that set the final score,” said Chesapeake coach Chris Ball.

Chesapeake (16-7) led 4-2 on baskets by Jordan Porter and Amanda Ruffner, but the Lady Warriors tie the game at the 6:13 mark and used a steal and layup by Jenny Grigsby to lead 16-4 with 2:37 left in the first quarter.

The Lady Panthers fought their way back and got within four points twice. They were down 28-21 on a 10-footer by Jackie Nelson with 46 seconds left in the half, but a basket by Grigsby from the corner made it 30-21 at the break.

Chesapeake had 10 turnovers in the first half with eight coming in the first quarter. Adena also had seven of their 13 offensive rebounds in the opening stanza.

“We knew coming in that they were athletic. Their man-to-man defense was overwhelming to some teams,” said Ball. “We brought some people in and we worked on it in practice. There were times we did OK, but there were times we didn’t handle it and they got some easy run-out layups.”

The Lady Warriors’ defense was geared to stop Ruffner who often faced double teams when she had the ball.

A layup by Nelson to start the second half cut the deficit to 30-23, but Autumn Smith turned a steal into a layup and Michelle Ackley hit a 15-footer and a 3-pointers as the lead quickly swelled to 37-23 at the 5:55 mark.

Another steal and layup by Smith gave Adena a 46-29 lead before Ruffner scored just before the end of the quarter.

Alyssa Dawson’s layup put Adena up 56-39. Chesapeake outscored Adena 8-2 down the stretch but it wasn’t enough to overtime the big deficit.

Ruffner had 18 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists in her final game. Porter added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Grigsby had 18 points and eight rebounds to lead Adena. Ackley had 13 points, Smith scored 12 and Natalie Cooper grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Lady Panthers were making only their second district semifinal appearance in school history.

“We have nothing to be ashamed of,” said Ball. “We had 16 wins and won the sectional. Our six seniors laid the groundwork. Hopefully we can take it from there and build a successful program. We owe a lot to our seniors.”

Adena will play Oak Hill at noon on Saturday, March 3, in the district finals.

Chesapeake 9 12 8 18 = 47

Adena 16 14 16 12 = 58

CHESAPEAKE (16-7): Amanda Ruffner 8 0 2-4 18, Jackie Nelson 3 0 2-2 8, Sarah Rice 1 0 0-0 2, Maggie Smith 1 0 0-0 2, Jordan Porter 3 0 6-10 12, Sydnee Hall 20 0-04, Chelsea Ridenour 0 0 0-0 0, Casey Underwood 0 0 0-0 0, Ashlee Miller 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-44 11-16 47. 3-point goals: 0-1. Rebounds: 8-19=27 (Porter 10, Ruffner 6). Team rebounds: 2. Assists: 6 (Ruffner 2). Steals: 7 (Ruffner 3, Nelson 2). Blocked shots: 2 (Ruffner, Porter). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.

ADENA (21-1): Natalie Cooper 3 0 1-2 7, Jenny Grigsby 8 0 2-5 18, Michelle Ackley 4 1 2-2 13, Alyssa Dawson 3 0 0-1 6, Autumn Smith 5 0 2-2 12, Alyssa Kennedy 1 0 0-0 2, Bethany Delong 0 0 0-2 0, Chloe Shea 0 0 0-2 0. Totals: 25-54 7-14 58. 3-point goals: 1-4. Rebounds: 13-20=33 (Cooper 11, Grigsby 8, Delong 5). Team rebounds: 2. Assists: 5 (Smith 3, Cooper 2). Steals: 12 (Grigsby 5, Smith 3). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None.