Bellefontaine’s girls basketball team was hit with adversity head on Tuesday but overcame it to earn a spot in the Division II sectional final.
The ninth-seeded Chieftains, who had to manage a key injury and foul struggles, pulled out a 42-40 victory over fourth-seeded Dayton Meadowdale in a sectional semifinal at Tecumseh High School.
Bellefontaine (13-11) advances to play sixth-seeded Thurgood Marshall at 5:30 p.m. next Tuesday at Tecumseh.
“I’m so proud of these girls,” said BHS head coach Meghan Ashcraft. “They showed a ton of grit and composure tonight. We had a lot of girls step up tonight.”
Bellefontaine starting point guard Quinlan Zedeker, who is averaging 11.2 points and 3.9 assists per game, injured her knee against Carlisle in last week’s sectional opener.
Wearing a heavy brace on the knee Tuesday, Zedeker gave it everything she had despite not being close to 100 percent. She also had to leave the game for a time after re-injuring a knee. “We had a game plan set up without Quinlan because we honestly didn’t think we would have her,” said Ashcraft. “But she really showed a lot of grit by playing through it, and Laila (Butler) and Parker (Penhorwood) stepped up to give us a boost.”
Bellefontaine trailed by five points early in the first quarter but clawed back to lead 13 12 at the end of the period.
The Chiefs pushed their lead to five points (24-19) at halftime. Meadowdale used an 11-
4 run to go up 30-28 with 3:17 left in the third quarter.
The third period would end in a 34-34 tie. Fueled by some big buckets inside from senior Lexi Robinson, the Chiefs went on a 6-1 flurry to open the final period.
That propelled Bellefontaine to a 40-35 lead with 6:12 remaining. The Lions (19-3) closed to within three points with 5:11 left to play, but they would get no closer.
After a long scoring drought by both teams, Robinson got loose for a bucket in the paint with 1:40 remaining to ice the game.
Meadowdale standout Zhieyah Rolack knocked down a three with two seconds left, but time then expired as the Chiefs emerged with the two-point win.
Rolack, a 5-11 senior forward, who came in averaging 26 points per game, finished with a game-high 25 points. However, the rest of the Lions combined for just 15 points.
“We knew (Rolack) would get her points,” said Ashcraft. “She is a really good player. But we did a good job of containing their other players.”
Robinson led the Chiefs with 13 points. She scored six of those in the decisive fourth quarter.
“Lexi made some big time moves to the basket in the fourth quarter,” said Ashcraft. “That was huge for us.”
Alexza Clifton and Penhorwood, who average around four points per contest, each scored nine for the Chiefs. Tiffany Boop added eight and Zedeker had three.
Bellefontaine will now look to take down Thurgood Marshall, which tied Meadowdale for the Dayton city league title this season.
“They are not as tall as (Meadowdale) but they are quicker,” said Ashcraft. “We are going to have to score more points because (Thurgood Marshall) is a very good offensive team.”
Thurgood Marshall (14-10) beat Tecumseh 70-38 in its sectional semifinal
Tuesday.