GMC SHOWDOWN … Alivia Farnham (above) netted 11 points to top Edgerton in the scoring column.
PHOTOS BY REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
BALL MOVEMENT … Edgerton’s Jade Saul makes a pass to the post in the Bulldogs home contest with Paulding.
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
sports@thevillagereporter.com
EDGERTON (January 22, 2026) – Paulding trailed most of the night before putting together their best offensive quarter of the night in the fourth to grind out a 32-28 win in a critical game in the GMC.
A slow start by both squads offensively saw Edgerton take an early 3-0 lead before Paulding got their first points of the night on a bucket from Tori Schlatter with 3:40 left in the first.
A basket by Alivia Farnham later would give the Bulldogs a 7-5 lead, but Addison Pease buried a triple to give the Panthers their first lead of the night at 8-7.
Farnham closed the opening frame with a rebound stickback and then opened the second quarter by drilling a trey from the top of the key to vault the Bulldogs back in front, 12-10.
Elle Huard’s trifecta from the left wing pushed the lead to 15-10 before the Panthers scored six of the next eight points; ending with a swipe and score by Myriah Manz, to trim the Edgerton lead to 17-16.
Kaitlyn Burke’s layup off a loose ball would give Edgerton a 19-16 lead at halftime despite Edgerton turning the ball over 17 times in the half.
Both teams again started slowly on offense in the third. Schlatter hit a free throw, Pease added a runner, and Kate Manz scoring off a turnover to give Paulding the lead back at 21-20.
Edgerton ended the quarter with a 6-0 spurt as Burke had two field goals and Farnham added one in between to give the Bulldogs a 26-21 lead going to the fourth quarter.
The final frame was all Paulding. With a combination of trapping defense and clutch shooting, the Panthers overcame the Edgerton lead.
Estie Pease got things rolling with a triple from the left corner, followed by back-to-back steal and scores from Schlatter to give Paulding the lead for good at 28-26.
The Panthers, who were 0-6 from the line in the fourth quarter, got their final points of the night on a layup by Estie Pease and a Schlatter offensive rebound bucket to extend the lead to 32-26.
The Bulldogs would get their lone points of the quarter on a jumper by Ava Swank with 33.2 seconds remaining.
For the night, Paulding shot just 25 percent (13-52) from the floor but were able to take 21 more shots than Edgerton (10-31) due in part to 29 Edgerton miscues in the game.
Each team had one player in the double figures as Schlatter registered 10 points, six in the final stanza, for Paulding and Farnham tallied 11 for the Bulldogs.
With the win, Paulding (16-1, 5-0 GMC) stays tied for first place with Fairview, while Edgerton (11-6, 4-1 GMC) falls a game back, with Fairview still to come on their schedule.
PAULDING (32) – A. Pease 7; K. Manz 6; Schlatter 10; E. Pease 5; M. Manz 2; Dunham 2; Mead 0; Totals: 11-2-4 – 32
EDGERTON (28) – Huard 3; Burke 7; Saul 2; Farnham 11; Swank 5; Totals: 8-2-6 – 28
PHS 10 6 5 11 – 32
EHS 9 10 7 2 – 28