Amelia’s trio of Kymmy Simon, Madison Terry and Danielle Lang accounted for 35 of Amelia’s 48 points as the Lady Barons opened up their season with a win on the road at Goshen on Thursday night, 45-38.
A sloppy start to the game could be expected as Amelia played their first competitive game of the season and Goshen played their second. The Warriors came into their home opener off a 48-39 win over Souther Buckeye Athletic Conference foe, Williamsburg.
Amelia jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead before the Warriors got on the board with 3:50 remaining in the opening frame. As Goshen crept closer, the Lady Barons would respond with a run of their own, a theme that would play out throughout the night. The first quarter ended with Amelia holding a 13-5 lead.
The Warriors came out firing in the second quarter, putting pressure on Amelia’s ball-handlers and forcing some turnovers. Their effort was rewarded as Goshen knotted the score at 17 with 2:25 left in the half, but once again, Amelia’s trio of Simon, Terry and Lang stepped up to give the Lady Barons a 21-17 halftime lead.
Coming out of the locker room, Goshen’s 5-foot-6 freshman Courtney Turner took over scoring 12 of her team-high 17 points in the third quarter. Dialed in from long range, Turner hit three 3-pointers in the quarter.
Turner’s hot hand gave Goshen their first lead of the game with five minutes remaining in the quarter, but the Lady Baron’s offense was just as potent in the quarter, allowing Amelia to hold onto a slim 36-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The offensive burst that was seen to open the second half came to a screeching halt in the fourth quarter as the teams combined for just 16 points.
Amelia, content to hang on to their lead became methodical on offense, forcing Goshen’s defenders to extend their defense to mid-court.
Amelia held a four-point lead with more than half of the final quarter gone. The lead seemed to be enough for the Lady Barons as they moved the ball for more than a minute before drawing a foul from Goshen. Simon hit one of two from the line, giving Amelia a five-point lead with 2:00 remaining.
The Lady Barons had buckled down on defense in the fourth, putting the lengthy sophomore Terry on Turner.Terry face-guarded Tuner her all over the court to ensure the freshman wouldn’t have another big quarter. However, when Goshen needed a bucket, Turner was able to make a cut and make a lay-up to make it a one possession game with 1:13 remaining.
Goshen was forced to foul to extend the game and caught a break when Amelia missed both of their free throws.
After securing the rebound, Goshen coach Dave Mason called timeout to set up a play that spread his players four-wide across the foul-line extended. Becca Davidson caught the pass on the left elbow, but traveled as she turned to face the basket, giving the ball back to Amelia.
The Lady Barons were forced to call a timeout to avoid a five-second call as a result of Goshen’s full-court pressure. Coming out of the timeout, Amelia got the ball in-bounds and broke the press quickly, giving Simon a wide-open lay-up to put Amelia back up five with 32 seconds remaining.
Goshen wasn’t able to get anything to go in their last possessions and Alanna Whited sealed the game for the Lady Barons when she calmly knocked down two free throws to put Amelia up seven.
Kymmy Simon, a 5-foot-7 senior guard, led the way for the Lady Barons with 17 points while Danielle Lang chipped in with 11 and Madison Terry added nine more.
For Goshen, Turner had 17 points, but her supporting cast was unable to have anyone else with more than six points.
Both teams were back in action on Tuesday night as Amelia faced Georgetown at home and Goshen traveled to Milford.
Later this week, Amelia will host New Richmond and Goshen will play Bethel-Tate on Thursday.
The two teams will meet again in January as Goshen will visit Amelia at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, the 19th.
Amelia (1-0) – Lang 3 3 9, Terry 4 2 11, Bailey 1 1 3, Whited 1 3 5, Simon 7 1 15, Ferro 0 2 2. Totals: 16 12 45.
Goshen (1-1) – Parriman 2 1 5, Turner 6 1 17, Steele 2 2 6, Taylor 1 0 2, Owens 2 0 5, Miller 1 0 3. Totals: 14 4 38.
3-pointers: A 1 (Terry); G 6 (Turner 4, Owens, Miller).
