1,000 POINT SCORER … Aricka Lutz looks to score while Elmwood’s Brooklyn Thrash challenges the shot. Lutz eclipsed 1,000 career points with a first half field goal. (PHOTO BY RICH HARDING, STAFF)
By: Nate Calvin
WHITEHOUSE, OHIO-For the first 2 1/2 quarters on Thursday night, the Swanton Lady Bulldogs were giving the top seed Elmwood all they could handle.
Swanton rallied from a fourteen-point hole to tie the game mid-way through the third quarter before the Lady Royals went on a 27-11 run to close out the game and move on to the district championship game on Saturday.
Swanton jumped to a quick 5-0 lead with a bucket by Aricka Lutz and then a three-point play by her twin sister Averie at the 5:21 mark of the first quarter.
After the Bulldogs extended the lead to 7-2, Elmwood began to settle in offensively against the Swanton zone defense.
The Royals would go on a 14-2 run with Mackenzie Mareches knocking down two triples and Brooklyn Thrash and Lainey Bingham each adding one to make it 16-9 Elmwood after the opening quarter.
The run continued as Elmwood scored the first seven points of the second quarter as Thrash and Cara Frank had field goals and Bingham nailed another trey to stretch the lead to 23-9.
The Bulldogs were able to put together an 8-3 run before halftime led by five points from Averie Lutz to cut the Elmwood advantage to 26-17 at the intermission and take some momentum to the second half.
Elmwood finished the half 9/26 for 34% from the field with five three-pointers while Swanton was just 5/26 (19%).
The Bulldog momentum did continue into the third with a triple from Aricka Lutz, Katie Floyd added a field goal, followed by Averie Lutz and Frankie Nelson draining back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game 28-28.
Elmwood responded with consecutive triples from Frank and Thrash to help the Royals push the lead to 36-31 after three quarters.
Both teams were turnover prone in the third quarter with Swanton committing seven and Elmwood turning it over eight times.
The final stanza started with a barrage of 3’s as Bingham and Thrash connected for Elmwood and Aricka Lutz countered with one for Swanton to make the score 42-34.
At that point Elmwood began to pound the ball inside and exploit their height advantage over the smaller Swanton team.
Anna Barber scored twice inside and then was 2/2 at the free throw line to cap off a 9-0 run to give Elmwood a 48-34 lead as they pulled away by outscoring Swanton 19-8 in the fourth quarter.
Elmwood owned 31-25 rebounding edge on the night, including 18-8 in the second half.
Swanton (16-9) finished the night 13/51 (25%) from the floor with seven three-pointers and was led in scoring by Aricka Lutz with 15 and Averie Lutz had 14.
Aricka Lutz reached a career milestone in the first half as she scored on a baseline drive, assisted by sister Averie on the play, to surpass 1,000 career points.
The Royals ended the night 9/21 from three-point range and were 20/53 (37%) overall from the floor.
Thrash, the Division III District 7 Player of the Year, led Elmwood (20-3) with 18 points on the night while Bingham and Mareches each had 11.
Thrash, a junior, also reached a career milestone as she became the school’s all-time scoring leader in the first half.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Swanton 9 8 14 8 39
Elmwood 16 10 10 19 55
Nate can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com