Eagles clinch share of BVC crown, beat P-G by 36

Riley Irwin scored 17 points in the first quarter, Lauren Gerken had 18 spanning the second and third, and Liberty-Benton clinched at least a share of its sixth straight Blanchard Valley Conference girls basketball title on Monday with a dominating 69-23 win over Pandora-Gilboa. With four returning starters, Liberty-Benton was a heavy favorite to put another BVC trophy in the trophy case. The Eagles have done just that, running their BVC record this year to 8-0 with one league game to play. L-B, which has won 61 consecutive BVC games, wraps up league play Feb. 10 at Riverdale which, at 5-1 could yet earn a title share of its own by knocking off the Eagles. Van Buren is also 5-1 in the BVC. Gerken, a 6-foot sophomore who led the BVC in scoring a year ago, finished with 23 points. Irwin, a junior guard who was second-team all-BVC last season, had 22. L-B made 10-of-13 3-point attempts, with Irwin knocking down four treys and Gerken three. Chelsea May added a full stat line as well, scoring nine points, grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out six assists and coming up with four steals. L-B led just 22-15 after one quarter of play but blitzed P-G 14-4 in the second quarter and 17-2 in the third. L-B got it done defensively as well, limiting Lacie Fenstermnaker, who entered the contest leading the league in scoring (19.6 ppg) and rebounding (12.7 rpg) to five points. Taelor Miller led Pandora-Gilboa (8-12, 2-6 BVC) with 12 points. PANDORA-GILBOA (8-12, 2-6 BVC) Diller 2-0—4, Rutshilling 1-0—2, Miller 5-1—12, Fenstermaker 2-1—5. TOTALS: 10-36 2-4—23. LIBERTY-BENTON (17-1, 8-0 BVC) L. May 1-0—2, Recker 1-1—3, Irwin 8-2—22, Deeter 1-0—3, Hiegel 1-0—3, Gerken 9-2—23, Crow 2-0—5, C. May 3-3—9. TOTALS: 26-44 7-10—69. Pandora-Gilboa 15 4 2 2—23 Liberty-Benton 22 14 17 6—69 3-Point GOALS: Pandora-Gilboa 1-10 (Miller); Liberty-Benton 10-13 (Irwin 4, Gerken 3, Deeter, Hiegel, Crow). REBOUNDS: Pandora-Gilboa 17; Liberty-Benton 26 (May 7). TURNOVERS: Pandora-Gilboa 21, Liberty-Benton 8. JUNIOR VARSITY: Liberty-Benton, 56-6. LEIPSIC 45 ADA 36 ADA — Whitney Langhals scored a game-high 13 points for Leipsic in its nine-point, NWC win over Ada Monday, 45-36. Ava Henry and Marisa Hermiller each finished with a half-dozen points for the Vikings. Olivia Burkhart (15 points) and Courtney Sumner (12 points) accounted for almost all of Ada's points, scoring 27 points combined in a losing effort. LEIPSIC L. Kirkendall 1-2—4, Henry 3-0—6, J. Hermiller 1-1—3, M. Hermiller 3-0—6, Langhals 5-3—13, Schroeder 0-2—2, Haselman 3-0—6, Martinez 2-0—5. TOTALS: 13-8—45 ADA King 1-0—2, Poling 1-0—3, Sumner 4-2—12, Burkhart 6-2—15, Jordan 1-0—2, Robinson 1-0—2. TOTALS: 14-4—36. LEIPSIC 13 &emsp;&emsp;11 &emsp;&emsp;11 &emsp;&emsp;10—45 ADA 10 &emsp;&emsp;8 &emsp;&emsp;11 &emsp;&emsp;7—36 3-POINT GOALS: Leipsic 1; Ada 4 (Sumner 2). H. NORTHERN 36 ARCADIA &emsp;&emsp;34 DOLA — Arcadia used a 20-12 fourth-quarter tilt to tighten things up against Hardin Northern, but ultimately fell short, losing to the Polar Bears 36-34 on Monday. Katie Good scored a game-high 13 points for HN. Emma Martin finished with a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. London Karrick paced Arcadia with a game-high 13 points. Tori Best scored seven points. ARCADIA Rank 2-1—5, Karrick 4-3—13, Best 2-2—7, Burnett 1-4—6, Mundy 1-0—3. TOTALS: 10-10—34. HARDIN NORTHERN Clem 1-0—2, Martin 2-8—12, Eibling 0-2—2, Wilson 2-0—6, Perkins 0-1—1, Good 4-4—13. TOTALS: 9-15—36. ARCADIA &emsp;&emsp;5 &emsp;&emsp;4 &emsp;&emsp;5 &emsp;&emsp;20—34 H. NORTHERN 8 &emsp;&emsp;9 &emsp;&emsp;7 &emsp;&emsp;12—36 3-POINT GOALS: Arcadia 4 (Karrick 2); Hardin Northern 3 (Wilson 2). REBOUNDS: Arcadia 22; Hardin Northern 31. TURNOVERS: Arcadia 11; Hardin Northern 19. BOYS BASKETBALL C-RAWSON&emsp;&emsp;59 RIDGEDALE&emsp;&emsp;56 MORRAL — Cory-Rawson had four players reach double-figures Monday in its three-point, non-league over Ridgedale, 59-56. Eric Davis paced the Hornets with 15 points. Brandon Stuckey scored 14, while Preston Stumpp and Mike Bixler each had ten points. Luke Strine led all scorers with a game-high 35 points for the Rockets. CORY-RAWSON (2-15) Boehm 1-0—2, Garmatter 1-5—8, Davis 7-0—15, Stumpp 4-0—10, Bixler 4-2—10, Stuckey 6-2—14. TOTALS: 23-5—59. RIDGEDALE (1-12) Long 1-0—2, Strine 14-3—35, Gordon 4-0—8, Townsend 2-0—4, Parish 2-1—6. TOTALS: 23-4—56. C-RAWSON&emsp;&emsp;16 &emsp;&emsp;10 &emsp;&emsp;13 &emsp;&emsp;20—59 RIDGEDALE&emsp;&emsp;15 &emsp;&emsp;9 &emsp;&emsp;11 &emsp;&emsp;21—56 3-POINT GOALS: Cory-Rawson 4 (Stumpp 2); Ridgedale 6 (Strine 4).