Charger BB Teams Claim Wins Over W-G

The ACGC basketball teams both came up wth victories over Woodward-Ganger last Friday, although their respective routes to the to the winners' circle were very different. While the girls' game was a one sided 60-21 affair, the boys had to depend on some late game heroics to pull off a 49-46 win.

The girls' game didn't start out like it ended, as neither team could find the basket early on. Halfway through the first quarter each team had scored just one basket. That all changed in the last four minutes of the quarter, as the Chargers went six for seven on field goal tries to take a 14-7 lead after the first eight minutes. Mercedes Richter led the charge with eight points on four for four shooting.

Neither team had much success in finding the hoop in the second stanza, as there was another long stretch--this one for five minutes--where neither team scored. Richter again ended the drought and scored five additional points with Saige O'Brien adding a three pointer to give the home team a 22-9 halftime lead. W-G was limited to two free throws in the quarter.

The second half was a different story for the home team, as it put thirty eight points on the scoreboard while holding the Hawks to just twelve points.

Richter led the Chargers in scoring with 17 points, while EmmaKay McClain also scored in double figures with 10 points. Alaina Bunde came up with 12 rebounds that included 7 off the offensive boards and also led the team in steals with 7. McClain was the playmaker of the night as she dished out 7 assists.

The Chargers shot 43% from the field, making 24 of 56 shots which included 4 of 14 successful three pointers. The team shot 80% from the charity stripe with 8 makes in 10 tries.

Charger coach Brad Baudler was pleased with his team's second half performance at both ends of the court. "Absolutely great defense and offense finally came out ," the second year mentor said. "Confidence is very high right now." The team's record improved to 6-3 with the win.

The boys' game had a very different look with neither team enjoying more than a seven point lead. The teams had a hard time finding the basket in the first quarter with a combined shooting percentage of 35% that resulted in an 8-8 tie at quarter's end.

With ACGC holding an 18-11 led midway through the second stanza, the Hawks outscored the Chargers fifteen to three to go into halftime with a 26-21 lead. W-G shooting improved considerably in the second quarter as it connected on seven of eleven shot attempts in the quarter. ACGC shot well enough at 60% for the quarter, but took only five shots. Ben Marsh scored over half of the Charger points as he came up with seven in the quarter.

The deficit continued for the Chargers throughout the third quarter with the Hawks holding a 37-31 heading into the final eight minutes. Eli Kading scored eight of the ten Charger points in the quarter.

The Chargers still trailed by six points at 44-38 with under four minutes left in the game when several Chargers emerged as heroes. A Miles Kading three pointer cut the Hawk lead to three points. Lucas Marsh's free throw following a steal made it 44-42.

The teams traded possessions without scoring when a trey by Clayton Wardyn put the Chargers up by one at 45-44. The Hawks responded with a score to give them their last lead at 46-45. A Hawk turnover resulted in a crucial basket by Eli Kading to tip the scales toward the Chargers at 47-46.

After a steal by Miles Kading the Chargers went into a delay game but turned the ball over with twenty five seconds remaining. The Hawks returned the favor on a fast break giving the ball back to the Chargers with twenty seconds showing on the clock.

Forced to foul, the Hawks put Wardyn at the line with six seconds remaining. The Charger sixth man sank two free throws that gave ACGC a 49-46 lead. That score stood up over the final few seconds and the Chargers could celebrate their seventh victory of the season.

Eli Kading was the lone Charger in double figures with 16, but there was good balance beyond that with Ben Marsh scoring 9, Wardyn 8 and Miles Kading 7. Eli Led in rebounds with 7, while Miles came up with 6 steals. Wardyn had 2 assists.

Charger shooting was some what off last night with the team hitting 36% of its field goal tries, making 16 of 47 attempts that included 4 makes out of 21 three point ties. The team made 13 of 24 free throws for 54%.

"We shot pretty poorly, but we played well enough in other ares to come away with the victory," Charger coach Eli Kading said following the win. "We did a nice job attacking the paint and getting to the free throw line. Now we just need to shoot a better percentage from the line. We played well enough in other areas to overcome our poor shooting. Brock Littler and Austin Kunkle came in for a couple of possessions to provide some defensive pressure and did a really nice job.

"Clayton Wardyn also gave us some really nice minutes last night. He hit a huge three pointer to give us a one point lead late and then two huge pressure free throws to put us up with six seconds left."

The win improves the season record to 7-2 and 5-2 in WCAC play.

Girls' score by quarter:

W-G 7 2 9 3--21

ACGC 14 8 16 22--60

Charger individual statistics: (PTS-REB-ASTS-STLS) T Carlson (3-0-1-1) Dorsey (5-1-0-3) Young (8-4-1-0) McClain (10-1-7-4) Bunde (9-12-2-7) Richter (17-5-0-4) Van Meter (3-0-0-0) O'Brien (3-1-1-0) Byars (2-1-0-0) Carney (0-1-0-1) Coffman (0-0-1-0) Schreck (0-0-0-0) Buttler (0-2-1-1)

Boys' score by quarter:

W-G 8 18 11 9--46

ACGC 8 13 10 18-49

Charger individual statistics: EKading (16-7-1-0) BMarsh (9-3-0-0) Crawford (3-4-0-2) LMarsh (4-5-2-0) MKading (7-6-1-6) Wardyn (8-2-1-1) Rogers (2-0-0-0) Littler (0-0-0-0) Kunkle (0-0-0-0)