D4 SECTIONAL SEMIFINAL … Nevaeh Smith pops a short jumper for Edon. Smith had seven points as the Bombers fell, 50-46. (PHOTO BY RICH HARDING / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
ANTWERP (February 21, 2024) – Antwerp senior Aewyn McMichael came alive in the second half with 15 of her 18 points to help the Archers rally from nine down for a 50-46 win.
Caroline Rohrs carried the Archers in the first quarter with six of Antwerp’s eight points as the teams traded the lead four times leading to an 8-8 deadlock after eight minutes at The Range.
McMichael tripled from the top of the key to start the second, her only points of the first half, and Rohrs added a drive for two to give Antwerp a 13-8 lead and forcing a timeout by Edon head coach Caela Walker.
Edon responded with an 8-0 run as Natalie Wofford and Adison Briner scored inside before Briner added a fastbreak bucket and Grace Ripke scored on a stick to give Edon a 16-13 lead.
The Archers put together a 7-2 spurt to end the half, aided by a three-pointer from Rohrs to take a 20-18 lead into the locker room despite McMichael being saddled with three fouls for the last five minutes of the half.
The teams exchanged the lead twice in the early moments of the third and Jaycea Craven buried a three ball for the Bombers before Rohrs answered with a basket for Antwerp.
The Bombers then ripped off a 10-0 run with Briner scoring four points and that was followed by treys from Genna Ripke and Craven to give Edon their largest lead of the night at 31-22.
The third quarter would become a track meet as the teams went up and down the floor trading field goals but after Wofford put home her third bucket of the quarter the Edon lead was at eight points, 39-31.
Antwerp would begin to close the gap with a 7-1 run to end the quarter as Rohrs nailed a triple from the left wing during the surge as the Bomber lead was cut to 40-38 after three quarters.
A bucket by Briner made it 42-39 early in the final stanza, but McMichael scored a driving layup and Madisyn Peters scored off an offensive rebound to give Antwerp the lead for good at 43-42.
A combination of ball control and free throw shooting over the next few minutes enabled Antwerp to grow the lead to 48-42 as Antwerp went 5/6 at the charity stripe during the stretch.
The Bombers made one last run with Nevaeh Smith scoring twice and a 0/2 trip to the foul line by the Archers brought Edon to within 48-46 with 6.3 seconds to go.
Rohrs would put things away tough by going 2/2 at the line as Antwerp finished 8/12 at the stripe in the quarter and 17/21 on the night compared to the Bombers 5/7 on the night.
Rohrs led all scorers with 21 points while Edon (7-16) was paced by 12 points each from Wofford and Briner.
The sixth seeded Archers (12-11) now will travel to face No. 3 seed Montpelier (16-6) on Saturday in a Division IV sectional final for the right to advance to the district semifinals in Defiance where the winner will take on either Ayersville or Edgerton.
EDON (46) – Wofford 12; Gr. Ripke 4; Craven 8; Ge. Ripke 3; Briner 12 Smith 7; Ogden 0; Totals: 16-3-5 – 46
ANTWERP (50) – Rohrs 21; Philpot 0; Clem 2; McMichael 18; Townley 3; Peters 4; Bagley 2; Totals: 12-3-17 – 50
EDON 8 12 22 6 -46
ANTWERP 8 12 18 12 – 50
GAME STATISTICS
EDON: FG – 19/39 (48%); FT – 5/11 (44%); Rebounds – 20 (8 offensive); Turnovers – 14; ANTWERP: FG – 15/34 (44%); FG – 17/21 (80%); Rebounds 17 (4 offensive); Turnovers – 13