BELLBROOK – Wilmington erased a 30-25 deficit entering the fourth quarter with seven straight points and went on to down Bellbrook 44-37.
Mya Jackson scored all seven of those points on her way to a game-high 25. Her career total now stands at 1,724.
Jackson also turned in a master defensive effort, holding Bellbrook’s leading scorer, Bailey Zerby, without a field goal.
“Any night she goes out there, we put her on the other team’s leading scorer,” WHS head coach Zach Williams said. “Mya takes great pride in her defense. Anyone out there is going to have a long night when Mya is guarding her.”
Jackson hit a three to start the period, drove the lane for two more and took a steal the distance to put the Hurricane up 32-30 and take the lead for good midway through the final period. She hit a three to put the Cane up 37-31 with 2:56 left in the contest.
Bellbrook’s Maren Freudenschuss buried the last of her three bombs to pull the Eagles to within 37-34 with 2:18 left.
Wilmington (8-4) possessed the ball for 79 seconds before Bellbrook (4-8) committed the two fouls needed to send the Hurricane to the line.
Jackson hit two charity tosses with 59 seconds left before Kayla Paul buried three of her team-high 13 points to make it 39-37 with 45.5 seconds left.
Free throws by Jasmine Jamiel, Sami McCord and Jackson after that sealed the game.
Jamiel joined Jackson in double-figures with 10.
“I’m proud of the way we finished in the fourth quarter,” Williams said. “People made plays when they had to make plays. Mya hit a shot when we needed a big shot. Karlie (Morgan) got a big rebound when we needed that rebound. Jaz and Sami stepped up and made free throws when we needed free throws. It was a solid group effort.
“Was it the best we played all year? No. Did we do what we needed to do in the crunch time? Yes.”
Wilmington trailed most of the evening. Bellbrook scored the last five points of the opening quarter, including Maria Mescher’s buzzer-beating three, to lead 11-6. The Hurricane pulled even at 11, but the Eagles rattled off nine straight to take their largest lead, 20-11 with 1:36 left in the half. Wilmington scored the last five of the half, including a Morgan three at the horn, to trail 20-16 at the intermission.
Bellbrook’s lead bounced between four and seven in the third quarter.
“We came out flat, timid, not the way we practiced and do what we needed to do against that zone,” Williams said. “We got down, but we fought back.”
Wilmington dropped the JV game 59-18. Zoey Moore had seven for the Hurricane.
SUMMARY
January 7, 2019
@Bellbrook High School
Wilmington 44 Bellbrook 37
W 06.10.09.19…..44
B 11.09.10.07……37
(44) WILMINGTON (fg-ft-tp) Jamiel 2-4-10, Jackson 9-4-25, McCord 1-2-4, Johns 0-0-0, Morgan 2-1-5, Self 0-0-0, Victor 0-0-0, Harris 0-0-0. Total 14-10-44. 3-point goals: 6 (Jackson 3, Jamiel 2, Morgan). FTM-FTA 10-12, 83 percent.
(37) BELLBROOK (fg-ft-tp) Mescher 3-3-10, Freudenschuss 3-0-9, Zerby 0-1-1, Paul 4-3-13, Greathouse 0-0-0, Westbrock 1-0-2, Painter 0-0-0, Knisely 1-0-2. Total 12-7-37. 3-point goals: 6 (Freundenschuss 3, Paul 2, Mescher). FTM-FTA 7-12, 58 percent.
