FINDLAY — The old adage “it ain’t over til its over” was never more truthful than in Thursday night’s Division III district cage semifinals when the Columbus Grove Lady Bulldogs overcame a 19-2 deficit.
They outscored Swanton’s Lady Bulldogs 29-16 in the second half and got a buzzer-beater by Morgan Kohls for a 50-48 victory.
Kohls shot with less than two ticks on the clock completed an unbelievable come-from-behind victory and sent Columbus Grove to the finals at Findlay High School on Saturday night vs. Riverdale (7 p.m. tip).
Grove took the ball under their own basket with :04 showing on the clock. Courtney Diller inbounded the ball to Kohls; the junior couldn’t find anyone to pass it to and hit a turnaround jumper from the paint.
“Oh my gosh; I looked at the clock and saw how much time was left and knew my teammates were counting on me. I just prayed for it to go in,” Kohls commented.
Prayer answered. The ball hit nothing but net, leaving no time for Swanton to get off even a “Hail Mary” shot.
Kohls led all Grove scorers with 14 points. She hit just four baskets from the field but none more important than her final one and connected on 6-of-6 from the line. Ella Diller had three from long range in netting 11 markers and Courtney Diller added 10 in the win.
Swanton had three players in double figures as Paige Onweller led all scorers with 16 points, Danille Beauz contributed 15 and Ashlee Polkinghorn added 11 in the effort.
Columbus Grove turned the ball over 23 times in the contest, with Swanton coughing up the rock 22 times.
Grove scored the first basket of the contest before Swanton went on a 19-0 run and took a commanding 19-4 advantage after the first quarter.
Grove managed to bounce back with 17 markers in the second stanza with E. Diller, Genna Carpenter and Erica Glass (2 3s) hitting from beyond the arc.
Grove trailed at the break 32-21 but Swanton scored the first five points of the second half, stretching their lead to 16 points. That is when the tide started to turn; despite some “questionable” calls, the Grove ’Dogs commenced the comeback run.
Swanton hit six 3-pointers in the first half and just one in the second as their run-and-gun style caught up with them; fatigue began to set in.
Swanton had plenty of opportunities in the final stanza from the foul line but hit just 4-of-16 in the quarter, allowing Grove to pull back into the game.
“We knew they weren’t very good from the foul line. I told my coaches at the half I wasn’t sure how accurate that was,” Grove coach Jerry Hoersten commented.
Good thing for Grove, it was very accurate. In the final quarter, the lack of ability to connected from the stripe combined with the stellar play of Kohls, E. Diller and Carpenter allowed the Bulldogs to outscore their canine foe 14-6; the Grove defense gave up just one basket from the field.
Kristy Birkemeier led the Grove rebounding attack as they outboarded Swanton 30-27.

COLUMBUS GROVE (50)
Morgan Kohls 4-6-14, Courtney Diller 5-0-10, Kristy Birkemeier 2-2-6, Ella Diller 3-2-11, Genna Carpenter 1-0-3, Erica Glass 2-0-6. Totals 17-10-50.
SWANTON (48)
Kristen Smith 1-1-3, Paige Onweller 6-2-16, Jordan Childress 1-0-2, Ashlee Polkinghorn 3-5-12, Danielle Bezeau 4-4-15. Totals 15-12-48.
Score by Quarters:
Col. Grove    4    17    15    14 - 50
Swanton    19    13    9    7  -  48
Three-point goals: Columbus Grove, E. Diller 3, Glass 2, Carpenter; Swanton, Beauz 3, Onweller 2, Polkinghorn.
LadyCats end
Stryker’s unbeaten season

ARCHBOLD — Stryker’s girls basketball team came into Thursday night’s district semifinal clash with Kalida sporting a 22-0 mark and seemed on the verge of keeping it, holding a 28-26 lead at the start of the fourth period.
The LadyCats had other ideas, outscoring the Lady Panthers 16-8 in the ultimate quarter to seize a 42-36 triumph.
Kalida (15-8) advances to meet up with old foe and Putnam County League colleague Continental for the title Saturday night.
Senior Ashley Heitmeyer was spectacular for the Maroon  and  White, scoring 22.
Mary Boete and Jaqurey Laws led the Panthers with nine.

STRYKER (36)
Haley Meyers 7, Jaqurey Laws 9, Casey Hageman 6, Mary Boete 9, Mandy Betz 2, Nicole Brown 3. Totals 13-5/13-36
KALIDA (42)
Ashley Heitmeyer 22, Alyssa Frey 0, Megan Heitmeyer 1, Amy Hamburg 8, Trisha Horstman 2, Gina Verhoff 5, Kara Kaufman 4, Stacy Reindel 0, Stephanie Kortokrax 0. Totals 11-17/27-42.
Score by Quarters:
Stryker    8    10    10        8 - 36
Kalida    5    9    12       16 - 42
Three-point goals: Stryker, Laws 3, Meyers, Brown; Kalida, A. Heitmeyer, Verhoff, Kaufman.