Tigers Fall Short to Bellevue in Girls D-IV State Semifinal, 46-43
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The curtain fell on a sensational Girls Basketball season for the Circleville Tigers, falling 46-43 to the defending State Champion Bellevue Thursday in Dayton.
They were in uncharted territory for the program, 94-seconds away from playing for a state championship, the score tied at 43. What seemed improbable three months ago was within their grasp.
“I don’t think anybody at the beginning of the season expected us to be here right now.” said Josh Blakeman in the post-game media conference. “And I don’t think anyone expected us to be in that game like we were either.”
About the photo: Circleville’s Brooklyn Cramer tosses a pass to an awaiting Addison Edgington in the Third period against Bellevue.
The Tigers led for most of the game, fending off every challenge Bellevue presented, a counter for every punch. Circleville fans familiar with Addison Edgington’s prowess in the paint was evenly matched by Bellevue’s Kaitlyn Turinsky, a 6-3 Youngstown State signee. Turinsky led the Lady Red with 15-points while Edgington recorded 13 for the Tigers.
Circleville opened with an 11-4 lead, hitting 4-of-6 free throws and getting baskets by Mallory McConnell and back-to-back buckets by Edgington. Bellevue’s Ellie Freitag dropped in a three-pointer before the period ended to pull the Lady Red within 11-7 through the first 8-minutes.
The state champs tied the game at 11 to start the second, but the Tigers got a triple from Maddie Blakeman to go up 16-12. When Bellevue mounted a comeback, Circleville was still on top at halftime 21-18.
The only bugaboo for the Tigers to that point were turnovers. Circleville had 12 by the break. Blakeman addressed it with his team in the locker room. “I told them we had to cut that in half if we want to have a chance. We had eleven in the second half and still gave ourselves a chance.”
The Lady Red opened the second half hitting the first two baskets for their first lead of the game at 22-21. The game had sixteen lead changes and was tied eight times. The two exchanged blows before Blakeman found a hot streak. The Tigers’ lone senior broke a 28-28 tie with a shot underneath the bucket, then sank a three. Bellevue’s Ava Jakubcin-Theis hit a shot to close the gap to 33-32 Circleville to set up the fourth quarter.
Blakeman, who led Circleville with 16-points, accentuated the Tigers’ legitimacy as a state semifinalist when she launched a 27-foot three-pointer on an in-bounds play for 36-32 lead to a roar from Tiger Nation. Following a timeout, the Lady Red’s Freitag hit two back door cutters to force a 36-36 tie. McConnell answered to put Circleville back in front. Her basket was the first of eight lead changes over the final five minutes of play.
About the photo: Circleville Girls Basketball Head Coach Josh Blakeman shares a moment with Juliana Sims-Ross during player introductions of the Tigers’ 2026 D-IV State Semifinal.
Kaylee West’s layup on the left tied the game at 43-43 with 1:34 remaining. It turned out to be the last basket for the Tigers. Bellevue’s Jakubcin-Theis broke the tie with a mid-range jumper.
Following a Bellevue time out, Turinsky snagged the inbounds pass intended for Blakeman. It was the Tigers’ 23rd turnover of the contest. Turinsky went to the line and sank one of two free throws for the 46-43 margin. One last attempt from the floor failed for Circleville and Bellevue began celebrating a return to the championship game.
The Lady Red scored 19-points via Circleville turnovers. Otherwise, the Tigers made 41.7% of their shots from the field to Bellevue’s 40%. The teams made four shots each from beyond the arc, while Circleville had a slight edge from the charity stripe, 9-of-14 to 6-of-10 for the Lady Red. And the Tigers owned the boards 33-19. Simply put, Circleville proved they belonged on the same stage as Bellevue and nearly willed themselves into a championship game.
“They battled to the end” said Blakeman. “They knew the game plan going in and executed it pretty well for the most part, just a little short there at the end. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Behind Blakeman and Edgington’s combined 29-points, Brooklyn Cramer had 7, McConnell 5 and West 2. Circleville finished the season 23-5.
Turinsky led Bellevue (29-0) with 16, Jakubcin-Thies scored 11, Freitag had 10, Mazie Gracemyer 9 and Lexie Easterwood 1.
Bellevue will face Laurel at 12:30pm Friday in a rematch of last year’s D-IV title game, won by the Lady Red 46-40. The Gators reached the final with a 56-54 overtime victory against Cincinnati Purcell Marian.
