The Miami Trace Lady Panthers advanced to the Girls Division II Sectional Semi's with a 55-26 victory over the Waverly Tigers Wednesday night at Adena High School.
Miami Trace dominated from the tip outscoring the Tigers 18-4 in the first quarter on their way to taking a 27-18 lead into the half. Waverly did bounce back a bit in the second quarter as Coach Ackley went to his bench and Waverly was able to outscore Trace 14-9 in the period but still trailed by 9.
Coming out of the half it was all Miami Trace as they held Waverly to just 8 second half points, four in the third and four in the fourth. Defense was the name of the game for the Panthers which is just what they needed on a night where the shots weren't falling. Miami Trace outscored Waverly 15-4 in the third and 13-4 in the fourth quarters.
Waverly's season came to a close with a final record of 8-12. They shot 10-33 from the field on the night for 30%, shot 4-8 from the free throw line and knocked down 2-7 three point shots. They committed 31 turnovers and pulled down 19 rebounds.
Miami Trace (20-3) didn't shoot that great from the field going 21-67 for 31%, they knocked down 6-23 three point shots for 26%, were 7-12 from the charity stripe for 58%. They out rebounded Waverly 31-19, 20 of which were offensive and committed just 12 turnovers. They were led in scoring by Sophomore Shay McDonald and Junior Becca Ratliff's 13 points.
The Panthers now move on to play Circleville in the Girls Division II Sectional Championship on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. from Adena High School. Buckeye Country 105.5FM/iHeartRadio broadcast start will be 12:45 p.m.