FHS HANDLES MENNO IN REGION 4B ACTION
Less than a week after upsetting No. 1-ranked Ethan and then trouncing an above-.500 Gayville-Volin team, the No. 2-seeded Freeman High School girls took care of business against No. 7 Menno on Tuesday night, downing the Wolves 63-47 in the second round of the Region 4B Girls Basketball Tournament.
The Flyers improved to 16-5 and are scheduled to face No. 3-seed Gayville-Volin once again Thursday night in Centerville; tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Raiders survived a scare from No. 6 Alcester-Hudson in Tuesday night’s other game in Freeman, holding off the Cubs 51-46 to improve to 14-7. Alcester-Hudson finishes 5-15.
Also Tuesday night, Freeman Academy/Marion saw its season come to a close with a 55-9 loss to Region 4B top-seed and Class B overall No. 1 Centerville. The Bearcats, who defeated Scotland on Monday night to extend their season, end their campaign 4-18 while the Tornadoes improve to 19-2.
In the other Region 4B game set for this coming Thursday, top-seeded and overall Class B No. 1 Centerville (19-2) will host No. 4 Viborg-Hurley (11-10) at 6 p.m.
FHS vs. Menno
Facing the Wolves Tuesday night the Flyers capitalized on the hot hand of senior Ashlin Jacobsen to build a double-digit lead in the first quarter and relied on their stingy defense to stave off a comeback from Menno, which opened the second period on a 12-0 run to draw as close as 24-22.
“When it’s tournament time, I feel like everyone’s record is 0-0,” said Freeman head coach Jenny Peters. “Even though we played them just a couple of weeks ago, they’ve grown and gotten better. Things change throughout the season and everyone grows and develops, so went into the game playing them like they were the No. 1 seed.”
Peters said her team struggled against Menno’s 1-3-1 zone defense in that second quarter which allowed the Wolves to quickly build some momentum and make it a one possession game. But the Flyers reverted to the offense they use against man-to-man pressure which solved the issue.
“There’s just more movement with that with the cutters,” said the coach, “and we found those open gaps, flattened out the zone and got some better looks that way.”
Despite Menno’s strong push in the opening minutes of the second period, Freeman maintained a 39-24 lead at the half and held a 49-33 advantage going into the final period en route to the 16-point win.
Jacobsen led all scorers with 26 points and added six assists and five rebounds in an all-around solid effort. Junior Peyton McCune had 15 points and five assists, senior Cami Fransen led the team with eight rebounds and sophomore Vaida Ammann had five steals.
Ashton Massey had 23 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots, and Lexie McNinch went for 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Wolves, who finish the season 2-19.
The Flyers were without starting guard Rylee Peters who was out with illness; she is expected to play Thursday against Gayville-Volin, “when it starts over again,” the coach said following Tuesday night’s victory. “We won tonight — we’ll celebrate that — but tomorrow it’s back to work. You lose you’re done. That’s our reality right now.”
FREEMAN BOX SCORE
Ashlin Jacobsen: 26 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals; Peyton McCune: 15 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, 2 steals; Cami Fransen: 8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block; Vaida Ammann: 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals; Cadence Hofer: 3 points, 1 rebound; Ella Waltner: 3 points, 6 rebounds; Lindsey Maske: 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks
MENNO BOX SCORE
Ashton Massey: 23 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks; Lexi McNinch: 18 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block; Ellyana Ulmer: 4 points, 2 rebounds; Kylie Guthmiller: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist; Nora Robb: 2 rebounds, 1 steal; Kaelie Derby: 1 rebound
FAM BEATS SCOTLAND
Estelle Waltner’s 16 points led Freeman Academy/Marion past Scotland in the opening game of the Region 4B Tournament Monday night, Feb. 19 in Scotland.
The Bearcats — the Region 4B No. 9 seed — beat the No. 8 Highlanders 31-23 to improve to 4-17 and will face No. 1-seed Centerville in Centerville Tuesday night. The Scotland girls finish the season 3-16.
FA/Marion trailed 8-5 after the first quarter but led 12-9 at the half and 20-13 after three quarters.
In addition to Waltner’s 16 points, Alexa Gortmaker went for 14.
Waltner also had six rebounds and eight steals while Gortmaker added four rebounds and three steals.
The Bearcats lost to the Highlanders 37-33 during the regular season.
