This past Saturday, the Washington Lady Blue Lion varsity basketball team visited Chillicothe High School for a Frontier Athletic Conference game against the Lady Cavaliers.
Washington won that game, 46-35.
On Wednesday night, Washington hosted Chillicothe, making for rare back-to-back games against the same team.
After a slow start, Washington picked things up and proceeded to post a 40-35 victory over the Lady Cavs.
Washington junior Jeleeya Smith was the game’s leading scorer with 13 points.
Seniors Emily Semler and Mallory Hicks both scored eight points, junior Aaralyne Estep scored six points, sophomore Megan Sever scored four and sophomore Allie Mongold had one point.
For Chillicothe, sophomore Jacey Harding led with 12 points and junior Emma Barnes scored 11.
The Lady Lions were quite cold at the start, making just 1 of 11 field goal attempts in the first quarter.
Chillicothe held a 7-2 lead at the end of the first.
The Lady Lions had their most productive quarter in the second, scoring 15 points to 8 for Chillicothe to take a 17-15 lead.
Washington had a very good defensive quarter in the third, allowing 5 points to Chillicothe while scoring 12 to take a 29-20 lead.
At one point leading by 11, Washington saw Chillicothe cut into its lead until they crept to within three points with 39 seconds remaining in the game.
Washington made 2 of 4 free throws and Chillicothe responded by sinking a pair from the line to again make it a one-possession game with 21 seconds to play.
Washington made two additional free throws, while Chillicothe missed its last two attempts from the line to set the final at 40-35.
“It’s tough when you play any team back-to-back,” Washington head coach Samantha Bihl said. “Especially within a few days.
“We had a slow start tonight, offensively,” Bihl said. “I thought, defensively, we did some nice things and we were getting the stops that we needed to.
“In the second and third quarters, I thought we did really well, offensively, just being patient,” Bihl said. “They were running a zone and we were getting a lot of ball reversals, working the ball inside and shooting layups. Those are the looks that we wanted.
“In the fourth quarter, especially the last four minutes, we got a little antsy,” Bihl said. “Going back and watching (the replay), there will be a lot of areas we can review and make adjustments and learn from so we finish better.”
Washington (3-9 overall, 3-5 FAC) will play a varsity-only game at Zane Trace High School Saturday at noon.
In one other FAC game Wednesday, Miami Trace won at Jackson, 44-36.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
W 2 15 12 11 — 40
C 7 8 5 15 — 35
WASHINGTON — Emily Semler 3-2-8; Aaralyne Estep 2-2-6; Allie Mongold 0-1-1; Mallory Hicks 3-2-8; Megan Sever 2-0-4; Jeleeya Smith 3 (1)-4-13. TOTALS — 13 (1)-11-40. Free throw shooting: 11 of 24 for 46 percent. Field goal shooting: 14 of 40 for 35 percent. Three-point field goal: Smith. Turnovers: 9.
CHILLICOTHE — Jacey Harding 1 (2)-4-12; Rhiley Sayers 0-0-0; Emma Fromm 1-0-2; Caroline Corcoran 0-0-0; Kendra Allen 0-0-0; Avery Erslan 1 (1)-2-7; Paige Huggins 1-1-3; Emma Barnes 4-3-11. TOTALS — 8 (3)-10-35. Free throw shooting: 10 of 15 for 67 percent. Three-point field goals: Harding, 2; Erslan. Field goal shooting: 11 of 35 for 31 percent. Turnovers: 12.
