Alexis Amabile scored eight of her team-high 28 points in overtime, including the go-ahead bucket with seven seconds left, and Chloe Jeffers added 19 as the Delaware Hayes girls basketball team outlasted visiting Worthington Kilbourne 70-69 in Friday’s season opener in Delaware.
The Pacers rode the hot hand late in the first half and early in the second. Amabile scored Hayes’ last seven points of the second quarter as the teams went to the locker room tied at 28.
Kilbourne’s Amya Harris (22) opened the second half with a layin, but Jeffers, who had just two points at halftime, scored 12 straight to give Hayes a 40-30 lead midway through the third. After hitting back-to-back three-pointers, the junior co-captain grabbed an offensive rebound, stepped back behind the three-point line and calmly drilled another to make it a 37-30 game with 5:46 left in the quarter.
She turned another offensive board into points on the Pacers’ next trip down the floor, too, scoring through contact and cashing in the ensuing free throw the complete a three-point play.
The Wolves didn’t go anywhere, though. They sliced their deficit to four, 46-42 by the end of the third, and outscored Hayes 16-12 in the fourth quarter to force the extra session.
Harris hit a pair of threes down the stretch, including the game-tying bucket with 31.8 seconds left in regulation.
Sara Dudley backed Amabile and Jeffers with eight points for the Pacers while Porter Barickman and Sophie Midura finished with six apiece.
Lauren Scott and Harris combined to score all but 11 of Kilbourne’s points. Scott finished with 30 in the setback while Harris had 28.
Big Walnut 70, Franklin Heights 15
The Golden Eagles improved their record to 3-0 with a lopsided win over the visiting Golden Falcons Friday night in Sunbury.
Big Walnut, which got a game-high 33 points from Abby Brown and six each from Avery Maxeiner and Andie Stewart, led 24-6 after the first quarter and 42-11 at the break.
The Eagles outscored the Falcons 16-4 in the third quarter and 12-0 in the fourth to smooth out the scoring summary.
Olentangy Berlin 49, Dublin Jerome 44
The Bears trailed 34-29 after three quarters of play, but outscored the visiting Celtics 20-10 in the fourth quarter to rally for a win in Friday’s league opener in Delaware.
Seniors Maddie Goodman and Courtney Suchan led Berlin with 18 and 13 points, respectively.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Zach Wieging came up huge when it mattered most, converting an old-fashioned three-point play with 10 seconds left in overtime to lead Olentangy to a 62-60 OCC win over host Hilliard Darby Friday night in Hilliard.
Wieging finished with a double-double in the win, coupling a team-high 19 points with 11 rebounds. Luke Elmore added 11 points, Tavian James added eight and Ethan Smith, who hit a key three-pointer to tie the game at the end of regulation, finished with eight of his own.
Hilliard Bradley 70, Olentangy Liberty 53
The Patriots started a bit slow out of the gate and never recovered en route to a loss to the visiting Jaguars in Friday’s league opener in Powell.
Liberty trailed 21-13 after the first quarter. The Patriots shaved two points off their deficit in the second, but were outscored 19-11 in the third as the Jags built a cushion they parlayed into the win.
Andrew Wade led Liberty with 16 points in the setback while Henry Hinkle added 14 and Ty Foster chipped in 11.
Keaton Norris poured in a game-high 27 points for Bradley.
Buckeye Valley 63, Franklin Heights 43
Troy Scowden had a game-high 16 points, Jake Radcliffe and Dylan Thompson had 12 apiece and Owen Osborne added 11 as the Barons continued their solid start to the season with a non-league win over the visiting Golden Falcons Friday night in Delaware.
BV outscored Franklin Heights 19-8 in the third quarter to pull away.
Worthington Kilbourne 57, Delaware Hayes 30
The Pacers, who trailed 17-5 after the first quarter, found points hard to come by en route to a season-opening setback at the hands of the host Wolves Friday night.
Jesse Burris had a team-best 12 points for the Pacers while Ryan Smudz hit three three-pointers on the way to nine points.
Ian Schupp led Kilbourne with 15 points in the win.
Also: Dublin Jerome 52, Olentangy Berlin 51.
