Madison girls get payback with win

Mohawks finally able to stave off Versailles in back-and-forth game to claim D-III regional title.

Madison's Ally Malott drives to the basket over Versailles' Tara Winner during a Division III regional final Saturday, March 13, at Springfield High School. Malott had 19 points, and the Mohawks won
62-53 in double overtime. Staff photos by Nick Graham

Nick Graham/MBR Madison's Ally Malott drives to the basket over Versailles' Tara Winner during a Division III regional final Saturday, March 13, at Springfield High School. Malott had 19 points, and the Mohawks won 62-53 in double overtime. Staff photos by Nick Graham

ENLARGE PHOTO

Nick Graham/MBR Madison's Abby Jerger dribbles up the court Saturday.

ENLARGE PHOTO

By Skip Weaver, Staff Writer 3:32 AM Sunday, March 14, 2010

SPRINGFIELD — The Madison High School girls basketball team’s bid to win its first regional championship was nearly spoiled by the same team that bumped it out of the tournament last year.

Versailles, which has been in the regional finals five consecutive seasons, roared back from a 16-point deficit to force overtime. Then it was the Mohawks who stormed back to force a second overtime and score a 62-53 victory Saturday, March 13, in a Division III regional final at Springfield.

Madison (26-0) appeared headed for an easy win when it built a 21-5 lead at the beginning of the second quarter, but the Tigers (18-7) rallied to outscore the Mohawks 34-18 over the remainder of regulation play.

Versailles senior Megan Campbell got a basket with 8 seconds to go in the fourth quarter to tie the score 39-39, and time ran out before the Mohawks could get off a shot.

In the first OT, the Tigers played with all the energy and Madison appeared to have none. Versailles held a five-point lead with 28 seconds to go, but Ally Malott got a drive to the hoop, Adrianne Lehman hit one of two free throws and Lindsay Hoskins grabbed the rebound on the missed free throw and put it right back in for the 48-48 tie and a second OT.

Madison took control on the tip of the second OT, with Hoskins getting the ball and passing to Brittany Shields for the easy layup and the Mohawks never trailed again.

“I watched Lindsay with so much determination,” said Malott, who finished with 19 points, 13 of them in the two overtime frames. “(When she got that rebound) it definitely re-energized us. We knew we weren’t going to lose then.”

Hoskins finished with a game-high 20 points.

“My mind is going 100 miles an hour right now,” Madison coach John Rossi Jr. said. “I’m just so tickled for these kids. Lindsay put us on her back again.

“We’ve never been in that situation all year,” he continued. “We noticed dejection on their faces in that first overtime. We almost looked like deer in headlights, but we felt like we had the advantage in the second overtime with Campbell out.”

Campbell, who totaled 12 points, fouled out at the end of the first OT. Bethany Ahrens led the Tigers with 17 points and Laura Schlater added 13.

“One more rebound, one more box out, one more inch,” Versailles coach Jacki Stonebraker said. “We were right there, but we only have so much depth this year.

“We weren’t expected to be here,” she continued. “These seniors have rode this ride for four years and they wanted their turn to shine, but our goal now is to get back here next year. We’ve got to keep going and keep fighting.”

Madison advanced to play Ironton, a 43-31 winner over Oak Hill, at 1 p.m. Thursday in the state semifinals at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus.

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