Wapakoneta 62 Lima Senior 38
By PHIL McLEAN
Wapakoneta Daily News Staff Writer
LIMA — After two ties and five lead changes in the early going, the Wapakoneta Redskin girls basketball team took the lead for good Tuesday and cruised to victory against the team up north in non-league varsity girls basketball action.
Redskin guard Kailey Schneider got things start with a 2-point field goal, but Lima Senior Spartan Kiaira Crockett quickly responded, draining a trey and then added a deuce to take over the lead 5-2. The Spartans increased their advantage to 7-2.
Wapakoneta went on an 8-point run to move lead back to the Redskins side of the scoreboard and then held off the Spartans through the first 8 minutes, holding a 16-14 lead at the buzzer.
Tierra Washington knotted the game at 16 as the second period opened, and Michelle Johnson put Lima up 18-16. Emily Steveley answered with a game-tying basket and Devon Golden, got her second trey of the game boosting Wapakoneta to a 21-18 advantage.
“We started off the game and in our first six possessions we had five turnovers,” Wapakoneta coach Rusty Allen said.
The Redskins settled down and started playing their game.
Beginning at the 4:40 mark of the second period, Wapakoneta went on a 13-point unanswered run that allowed the Redskins to take a 34-18 lead to the locker room at the break.
Lima Senior came into the game with a 7-1 record, while Wapakoneta held an 8-1 mark at game time. The only loss by either team, was to Bath.
“Coach (Vince) Halliday has done a nice job with them,” Allen said. “They are a little more disciplined and they got some people who can play. Fortunately our defense was able to contain them.”
Wapakoneta outscored the Spartans 21-9 in the third period.
A 12-point run in the third and a 6-point run in the fourth period sealed Lima’s fate.
The Spartans did not have anyone score in double figures for the game, and as the official scorekeeper pointed out, “They held our leading scorer to three points.”
Heidi Schlegel led all scorers Tuesday with 17 points and Devon Golden contributed 14. But a combined 31 points performance can not begin to describe the little things that the rest of the team added to the win. Out of the 11 players who saw time on the court nine of them scored. The passing was crisp and the defense created a number of Lima turnovers.
Lima drops to 7-2 on the season.
The Wapakoneta junior varsity celebrated the birth of coach Ryan Loy’s daughter, Madison, who born Jan. 12, and won the opener 33-18, behind a 9-point performance from Morgan Quellhorst. Emma Sawmiller added 8 points and Karmyhn Schneider contributed 7 points for the Redskin reserves who even their record at 5-5.
Wapakoneta (9-1) which posted a season high with the 62 points scored, returns home for a Western Buckeye League game Thursday against the Ottawa-Glandorf (2-7, 1-2) Titans. The Titans defeated Willard 48-42 Monday and the Kenton Wildcats, 62-43, last Thursday.

Boxscore
Wapakoneta 16 18 21 7-62
Lima 14 4 9 11-38
Scoring
Wapakoneta: Bryan 3-0-7, Steveley 3-3-9, Schneider 1-1-3, Steinke 2-0-5, Sawmiller 0-0-0, Golden 4-4-14, Snider 0-2-2, Helmstetter 1-0-3, Lowry 1-0-2, Schlegel 7-3-17, Rinehart 0-0-0. Totals 22-13-62.
Lima: Crockett 2-0-5, Washington 1-0-2, Johnson 2-0-5, Kemper 3-0-6, KaHarris 1-0-2, Daniel 2-0-5, KrHarris 1-0-2, Hurley 2-2-6, Simpson 1-0-3, Hutchens 0-2-2. Totals 15-2-38.
Three Point Goals: Wapakoneta 5 (Golden 2, Bryan, Steinke, Helmstetter); Lima 4 (Crockett, Johnson, Daniel, Simpson).
Fouled out: None
Technical Fouls: None
JV Score: Wapakoneta 33-18.