Girls Basketball: On to The Sweet 16 – Circleville Tops Logan Elm; Unioto Wins in Zanesville

Article presented by The Bean Foundation …

Saturday was a day for cutting down the nets in Girls Basketball as area teams claimed District Championships.

Unioto and Circleville punched their tickets for The Sweet 16 in Divisions III and IV Saturday. Teays Valley claimed their spot Friday night for their first Regional run in 29 seasons.  

Unioto Fends Off Steubenville 55-51

The Tanks were rolling in Zanesville, where they grabbed an early lead and kept the Steubenville Big Red at bay for most of the game.

Steubenville used a late run to tie the game, but the Shermans prevailed behind a 34-point effort by Milee Smith.

Unioto will face Toledo Central Catholic Thursday, heading back to Zanesville’s Winland Memorial Gymnasium for a second time in as many years

Circleville Bounces Logan Elm 53-37

Five weeks ago, Logan Elm earned its first win over Circleville in 14 years. The Tigers made sure they’d not lose two consecutive matches when they took the Braves 53-37 Saturday.

About the photo: Circleville’s Brooklyn Cramer works between Logan Elm defenders Palynn Wray (00), Molly Miller (2) and Kiki Ingram (4) in the first half as the Tigers built a 16-point lead.

Circleville topped of an 11-4 first quarter with a 9-0 run over the first three minutes of the second for a 20-4 lead. The Braves’ Kiki Ingram had 14 of Logan Elm’s 16 points by halftime, trailing 23-16. Meleah Gardner opened the third with a baseline jumper to cut the margin to five, but that’s all the closer Logan Elm would get.

Circleville forced Logan Elm to shoot from the perimeter, but the Braves had trouble with the zone and made just one shot from beyond the arc.

The Tigers were relentless on the defensive boards and Addison Edgington was tough to handle inside offensively, leading all scorers with 24-points. Other scorers for the Tigers: Brooklyn Cramer, 11; Maddie Blakeman, 8; Mallory McConnell, 7 and Kaylee West, 3.

Ingram finished with 19-points for Logan Elm. Gillian Savage added 7, Palynn Wray 5, Kimmy Petty 4 and Meleah Gardner 2. The Braves finish the season at 20-5.

Up next for Circleville (21-4), they’ll head to Zanesville High School Tuesday, March 3rd to meet East District champion West Holmes, a 49-45 winner over Carrollton. Tip off at Winland Memorial Gymnasium is 8pm.

More Sweet 16 …

It’s taken 29 years for Teays Valley to return to the Sweet 16. The earned a 52-37 D-II title victory over Westerville Central at the Ohio Expo Center Friday. The Vikings will travel to Morral, Ohio Tuesday to play Big Walnut at Ridgedale High School at 8pm.

Defending D-V State Champion, Portsmouth heads back to the Regional after beating North Adams Saturday 55-32. They’ll face Eastern Brown, a 52-47 winner over Piketon, Wednesday at Logan High School. Tip-off is 7pm.

See moire on the Hanes Total Health Care Center High School Scoreboard.

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