PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
WAUSEON SENIOR … Aizlynn Coronado dribbles to the basket in last week’s district semifinal versus Liberty Benton. VIEW 82 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
TEAM-HIGH SCORER … Wauseon’s Marin Leatherman takes a shot from down low. Leatherman fronted Wauseon with 10 points on the night.
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
sports@thevillagereporter.com
MILLER CITY (February 24, 2026) – Liberty-Benton used a combination of size inside and perimeter scoring from Megan Gerken to grab a double-digit lead in the first half en route to 43-32 Division IV district semifinal win over Wauseon.
The Eagles’ defense set the tone early by forcing seven Wauseon turnovers in the first quarter, the last one resulting in a Gerken bucket for an 8-4 lead after one quarter.
After an offensive rebound basket by 6’0” freshman Emelia Kin gave L-B a 12-6 lead, Abby Kissel drained a triple for the Indians to cut the deficit in half.
L-B then stretched the lead to double digits with a 10-0 run to end the half. Sophie McDaniel (5’10”) scored inside to start the flurry, followed by a field goal from Corra Dehert (6’3”), two more buckets by Kin, and two free throws by Gerken for a 22-9 lead at halftime.
Liberty-Benton pushed the lead to 25-11 to start the second half before a 7-2 spurt by the Indians closed the gap.
Ella Tule started things with a bucket, followed by a corner three-ball by Mia Barajas, and then a swipe-and-score from Kissel to trim the deficit to 27-18.
Wauseon would close to within 31-23 at the end of the quarter, thanks to a triple from the top of the key by Sophia Rupp and a score at the buzzer by Marin Leatherman.
Gerken then took over in the fourth quarter for L-B. Gerken hit a triple from the left corner, a layup, and then another left corner trey after an Eagles’ offensive rebound to give L-B a 39-27 lead with 3:56 to go.
Wauseon continued to hang around with a bucket by Leatherman and a turnaround jumper by Rupp to trim the L-B lead to 39-31.
The Eagles would close it from there by going 2-for-4 at the free throw line, and Gerken added another field goal, giving her 10 points in the quarter.
Gerken led all scorers on the night with 14, Kin added 12, and McDaniel tallied 11 for the Eagles. L-B finished the night 15-for-38 (39%) shooting and committed just eight turnovers.
Leatherman was the lone Indian in double figures with 10 and Tule added eight. Wauseon shot 12-for-38 (32%) and turned the ball over 16 times.
WAUSEON (32) – Kissel 5; Fisher 0; Leatherman 10; Coronado 0; Sanford 0; Hamilton 0; Rupp 6; Tule 8; Rodriguez 0; Barajas 3; Ehrsam 0; Schindler 0; Totals: 9-3-5 – 32
LIBERTY-BENTON (43) – Gerken 14; E. Lieb 1; C. McDaniel 0; S. McDaniel 11; Dehart 5; Kin 12; Totals 13-2-11 – 43
WHS 4 5 14 9 – 32
LBHS 8 14 9 12 – 43