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VAN WERT — After Elida dominated the third quarter 18-5, Van Wert bounced back with a 20-4 fourth quarter to pull out a 59-55 Western Buckeye League win Thursday night.

The Lady Cougars are now 6-6 overall and 1-3 in the WBL. Elida is 6-7 and 2-2.

The Lady Bulldogs led 51-39 after three but it was all Cougars after that. Livia Butler started the fourth period with two missed free throws but she rebounded the second miss and laid it in to cut the margin to 51-41. After two more missed Van Wert free throws, Elida’s Ashley Lowry escaped for an open layup but the Cougs’ Erin Morrow went on her own personal 7-0 run, hitting nothing but net on three shots: a trey from the right wing, a 17-foot left-side baseliner and a 12-foot right-side baseliner -- 53-48, Elida, with 3:53 left in the game.
O’sha Owens scored on an inbounds play to push the lead to 55-48 but the ’Dogs wouldn’t score again. Van Wert’s Cheyenne Handy rattled home a trifecta from the right wing at 3:15 to make it 55-51. Three straight Elida turnovers resulted in three more Cougar baskets -- Claire Butler putback, Morrow putback of her own missed trey, Morrow open layup on a baseline drive -- 57-55, Van Wert, with 1:33 left. Owens missed two free throws at 1:16, the only Lady ’Dog misses in the game. Handy missed on a drive and Elida rebounded but threw it away again. Alexis Dowdy swished two pressure free throws with 12.5 seconds left to seal the deal.