Katie Murphy with coach Zach Williams looking on (Matthew Butcher Photo)
Caroline Diels (Matthew Butcher Photo)
Ke'Asia Robinson (Matthew Butcher Photo)
WILMINGTON — Ke’Asia Robinson knocked down two key second-half three pointers and a late free throw to help Wilmington steal a 48-45 win over Little Miami High Saturday afternoon at Fred Summers Court.
“[Robinson] had a slow start to the game, but she stepped up big when we needed her to step up big. It’s a great senior moment for her … she finished strong and made big plays,” said WHS coach Zach Williams, his voice hoarse from the tense affair.
Wilmington defended home court for a third consecutive win after two successful midweek road trips, which brings them to 5-5 on the year. They travel again to Miami Trace Tuesday before putting their 2-2 SBAAC record on the line against visiting Goshen High after the new year.
The Panthers’ Emma Hartmann had 14 in the loss, which further sunk their record to 1-6 on the season.
After scoring the first bucket of the game, the Lady ‘Cane fell behind after allowing 12 Little Miami offensive rebounds in the first half (17 for the game) and didn’t pull ahead in the game again until late in the third quarter.
The Panthers showed fight throughout the final half of action, when they grabbed an additional five offensive boards and cut the lead to three after two free throws with roughly a minute and a half left.
Despite having the crowd in their favor and a notably vocal bench, Little Miami could not get late stops on the defensive end and failed to convert the shots they needed. Four Hurricane free throw makes on 12 attempts, while not an ideal percentage, was enough to keep the Panthers from scratching their way to a win.
Robinson led Wilmington with a joint-game-high 14 points, 11 of which came in the second half. She shot a quietly efficient 4 of 5 from the field and 2 of 3 from deep, the first shots she has made from beyond the arc this season.
Elle Martin did well inside of the paint, adding 12 of her own points.
The Lady ‘Cane JV squad took a tough loss as Brynn Conley’s contested layup at the buzzer gently bounced off the rim to finalize the 39-38 loss. Alli Bayless pitched in 11 and Conley had 10.
SUMMARY
Dec 17, 2022
@Fred Summers Court
Wilmington 48, Little Miami 45
LM^15^11^7^16^^45
W^7^16^16^9^^48
(45) LITTLE MIAMI (fg-3fg-ft-tp) T. Trimble 1-1-1-4 Cisak 0-0-0-0 Bayless 0-0-1-1 Hartmann 6-1-1-14 Houllion 1-0-5-7 Lane 2-1-0-5 Loffer 0-0-0-0 Dalraine 3-1-1-8 Wilson 3-0-0-6 TOTALS 16-4-9/14-45
(48) WILMINGTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Robinson 4-2-4-14 Noszka 2-0-4-8 Tippett 1-1-0-3 C. .Diels 1-1-0-3 Martin 5-1-1-12 Murphy 2-0-2-6 Walker 1-0-0-2 TOTALS 16-5-11/21-48
