MIDDLETOWN — In a back and forth tournament battle, Wilmington outlasted Taylor 44-41 Wednesday night in a Division II sectional at Middletown High School.
Katie Murphy had 13 points and two assists while Caroline Diels had eight rebounds and two steals. Ke’Asia Robinson totaled 12 points and seven rebounds. Taylor Noszka had eight rebounds.
With the win, the Hurricane advances to meet Indian Hill 3:30 p.m. Saturday at MHS in the second round.
Wilmington is 10-12 and has won three of its last four games.
Taylor, a member of the Cincinnati Hills League, finishes its season at 14-9 but lost the final four games of the season.
For what it’s worth, Indian Hill also is a member of the CHL and defeated Taylor twice this season, 53-49 at IH and 50-37 at THS.
Wilmington took an 11-6 lead after one but the offense went south in the second quarter and Taylor surged into the lead, 15-13. The Hurricane was unable to find offensive consistency because of its shooting. WHS was 6 for 22 from the field in the first half.
The Hurricane went back up after three, 26-25, as the up and down contest. After trailing 33-32, a 6-0 run put Wilmington up 38-33 with less than a minute to go.
The last 57 seconds must have seemed like an eternity to the Hurricane faithful but in the end WHS held on for the win. Wilmington found its shooting stroke in the second half, making 8 of 13 from the field. Also, After not attempting a free throw in the first half, Wilmington was 14 of 18 from the line in the third and fourth quarters.
SUMMARY
Feb 8, 2023
Div II Sectional
@Middletown High School
Wilmington 44, Taylor 41
W^11^2^13^18^^44
T^6^9^10^16^^41
(44) WILMINGTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Robinson 6-0-0-12 Noszka 2-1-1-6 Tippett 1-0-0-2 C. Diels 2-0-7-11 Murphy 2-1-6-13 Walker 0-0-0-0 Edams 0-0-0-0 Conely 0-0-0-0 TOTALS 14-2-14/18-44
(41) TAYLOR (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Stokes 0-0-0-0 Kantz 2-1-0-5 Tedesco 3-0-0-6 Gooding 2-0-0-4 Bittermann 4-0-0-8 Montag 4-1-3-14 Doogan 0-0-0-0 Blakley 0-0-0-0 Souders 0-0-0-0 Odor 1-0-0-2 Everett 0-0-2-2 TOTALS 17-2-5/7-41
FIELD GOALS: T (17-58); W (14-35) Robinson 6-11
3 PT FIELD GOALS: T (2-13); W (2-10)
FREE THROWS: T (5-7); W (14-18) C. Diels 7-9, Murphy 6-6
REBOUNDS: T-27 (Bittermann 13); W-39 (C. Diels 8, Noszka 8, Robinson 7, Murphy 3, Tippett 3, Conley 3, Adams 1)
ASSISTS: T-2; W-6 (Murphy 2, Adams 1, C. Diels 1 ,Conley 1, Tippett 1)
STEALS: T-10; W-3 (C. Diels 2, Robinson 1)
BLOCKS: T-1; W-0
TURNOVERS: T-9; W-20
