Athens advances with win against Miami Trace
Athens advances with win against Miami Trace
By: Caiel Woody
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THE PLAINS, Ohio (WOUB) — Tonight, Athens (19-3) and Miami Trace (9-12) meet up to start their attempts at a playoff run. The Bulldogs are coming with a nine-game winning streak, a much cleaner record than the Panthers, and two brand new members of the 1000-point club in Ella Chapman and Quinn Banks, who both hit that mark last week against River Valley. Tonight, those Bulldogs went against a Miami Trace team that was coming off two losses, but now that it is playoff time, the regular season does not matter.
Getting into the first quarter of playoff play, a tough showing of basketball would end 16-15 in favor of the Panthers as both teams would get physical, but only the Bulldogs would get fouls; having three as a team with Lex Koopal having two and Olivia Smart having the other.
Both teams would get up close and personal, showing full court press on multiple occasions, forcing shots, and collectively getting eleven steals in the first half: six for the Panthers and five for the Bulldogs. These hard styles of play had Miami Trace finding no scoring opportunities in the second quarter outside of the two times they went to the foul line, but Banks would step up for Athens grabbing boards and hitting the put backs, getting herself 10 points for the Bulldogs, who ended the first half up 23-18.
Opening the second, it was all Athens. They went on a scoring streak, running up a 20-point lead, and the Panthers had no answer for them. Miami Trace did not put a single point on the scoreboard in the third quarter, falling even further to the Bulldogs 38-18 lead. Closing out the game brought nothing new.
In the fourth quarter Athens just kept scoring while Banks and Koopal both got double doubles. Although the Panthers never stopped fighting, their 10-points in the fourth were not enough damage control to contain a 45-28 Bulldog victory.
As the Miami Trace seniors went home one last time, the Athens girls won the last home game they will ever play. These Bulldog girls have little time to enjoy their fifth straight first round playoff win before, they take a trip to Sheridan in a few days in an attempt for the seniors to get revenge on a team they lost to in the same game three years ago.
Sheridan will be a tough team to play just like any team who has made it this far would be. It will be a great game, but Athens will need to clean up their protection of the ball to keep the game in their hands.
When Coach Jeff Skinner was asked about his thoughts on the upcoming game he said, “they will make us pay for turnovers” letting people know he is already thinking about it. This will be a great game of basketball, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
