Adrian’s Jenna Honermann (21) and Kylie Heronimus (right) wrestle for a loose ball with a Fulda player during Monday’s Red Rock girls’ basketball game in Adrian. Adrian nipped the Raiders 75-71 in overtime to up their RRC record to 8-0.
By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian girls’ basketball team recorded a pair of crucial Red Rock Conference wins to take control of the chase for a league championship.
The Dragons bested Red Rock Central by 16 points in Adrian Friday before nipping Fulda by four points in overtime Monday in Adrian.
Adrian’s record is 10-2 overall and stands as the RRC’s lone unbeaten team in league play with an 8-0 mark. The Dragons take a four-game winning streak to Westbrook tonight and they host Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin Tuesday.
Adrian 75, Fulda 71
The Dragons outscored Fulda 12-8 in overtime to pull out a four-point victory during an exciting game played in Adrian Monday.
AHS appeared to be in control of the game when it took a 46-35 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Raiders opened the final period with a 20-3 run to take a 55-49 advantage with 4:15 left to play in regulation.
The Dragons climbed within two points of the Raiders five times as the period progressed before knotting the score at 63 when Ashley Cox converted a layup with 13.1 seconds remaining.
When Fulda’s final shot of regulation play drew iron in the final seconds, the game went into overtime.
Adrian never trailed in the overtime. Maria Gengler snapped a deadlock at 66 with a field goal at the 1:39 mark, giving the Dragons the lead for good. Jenna Honermann drained four consecutive free throws with less than one minute remaining, and Cox and Andrea Lonneman added one charity shot each to help put the game away.
Gengler, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the winners, gave the Dragons a 10-4 lead with a field goal with 3:40 remaining in the first quarter. Fulda, however, trimmed the difference to five points (16-11) at period’s end.
Field goals from Cox and Gengler in the first two minutes of the second quarter increased Adrian’s lead to nine points (20-11) before the Raiders countered with a 12-6 surge that made it a 26-23 game with 2:23 remaining in the first half.
Fulda didn’t get any closer to catching AHS and trailed 32-26 at the intermission after Lonneman recorded a field goal with three seconds left.
A 6-0 run capped by a field goal from Kylie Heronimus to start the third quarter gave the Dragons their biggest lead of the game at 38-26. Fulda closed the gap to nine points twice as the third period progressed before facing an 11-point deficit at quarter’s end.
Honermann contributed nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals to the winning cause, while Heronimus charted seven assists. Lonneman scored 21 points.
Box score
Heronimus 5 0 2-4 12, Honermann 2 0 4-4 8, Henning 1 0 0-0 2, Cox 2 0 5-6 9, Lonneman 9 0 3-4 21, Gengler 10 0 3-6 23, Wolf 0 0 0-0 0
Team statistics
Adrian: 21 of 50 field goals (42 percent), 17 of 24 free throws (71 percent), 30 rebounds, 19 turnovers.
Fulda: 22 of 56 field goals (39 percent), 16 of 21 free throws (76 percent), 21 rebounds, 17 turnovers.
Adrian 67, RRC 51
The Dragons removed thorns from their sides when they bested the Falcons by 16 points in Adrian Friday.
RRC is the team that ousted AHS from the post-season playoffs last season and handed the Dragons their first loss of this season during a tournament game played in Lamberton in December.
Adrian wanted some payback against the Falcons and got it by outscoring the visitors 44-24 in the second half.
"This was a good win for us to get," said Dragon coach Randy Strand. "It was good defense and good rebounding on our end that made the difference."
The Dragons, who led 15-11 after eight minutes of play, found themselves facing a 26-23 deficit heading into a third quarter in which AHS outscored RRC 22-8 to gain a 45-34 lead. Adrian continued to play well in the fourth quarter, using a 22-17 scoring cushion to make it a 17-point difference in the end.
Andrea Lonneman, who had 10 rebounds for the winners, scored 13 of her team-high 26 points during the decisive third quarter.
Maria Gengler had a triple-double for the winners by registering 20 points, 12 rebounds and 11 blocked shots. Gengler also had six assists. Kylie Heronimus had 10 rebounds and 10 assists for AHS. Jenna Honermann contributed six assists to the cause.
Box score
Heronimus 0 0 3-4 3, Honermann 2 0 2-2 6, Henning 1 1 3-4 8, Cox 2 0 0-0 4, Lonneman 9 0 8-10 26, Gengler 9 0 2-3 20.
Team statistics
Adrian: 24 of 57 field goals (44 percent), 18 of 23 free throws (78 percent), 42 rebounds, eight turnovers.
RRC: 17 of 60 field goals (28 percent), 11 of 14 free throws (79 percent), 26 rebounds, six turnovers.