TOLEDO — The game itself wasn’t pretty, but the Indians’ league record when it was over — and a Senior Night win — more than made up for it.
Toledo used a big second quarter to overcome an early deficit and held on for a 50-40 win over SWW 1A League Evergreen Division rival Onalaska here Thursday night to wrap the regular season with a 14-0 league record. The rough and tumble contest, in a packed George Murdock Gymnasium, featured 41 turnovers and 32 fouls — and one broken nose.
Onalaska employed a box-and-1 defense on Indians’ star guard Tiffany Tornow, who still scored 19 points on limited touches while being shadowed the length of the court by Ony’s Samantha Gordon.
“She’s the difference-maker on the team,” Onalaska coach Doug Ashmore said of Tornow. “(Gordon) spent 32 minutes handling her, and she still gets (19).”
The Loggers led 11-8 after a quarter, but Tornow scored 9 of the Indians’ 21 second-quarter points to give the hosts a 29-23 halftime advantage.
“Give our girls credit. The box-and-1 was it, and I thought we executed pretty well,” Ashmore said.
Kalie Ritchey and Sarah Barnes each had 10 points for Onalaska, which attempted 17 treys in the loss — an unusually high figure for a team that thrives on penetration, Ashmore added.
“They were giving us that shot. That’s not really our game,” he said. “Give them a lot of credit. That matchup zone’s a tough one.”
The Loggers scored just 4 points in the third quarter, allowing Toledo to stretch the lead to 12 heading into the fourth. Tornow knocked down a 23-foot bomb to put the Indians up 48-37 with about a minute and a half remaining to put an exclamation point on the win.
“It’s a great feeling,” Tornow, one of seven seniors playing their final game in Toledo, said. “We’ve been playing together since we were in fifth grade. It’s awesome to go out on a good note.”
The hosts took a 44-27 advantage on the boards, led by seven apiece from Brittany Hope — who also scored 14 — and diminutive guard Lacey Scott.
“I think we played hard all night,” Toledo coach Mandie Olson said. “We didn’t execute, at times, like I was hoping, and we rushed a few things.”
The Loggers finish the regular season at 19-5 (10-4 league) and, along with Toledo, will start District IV 1A Girls Basketball Tournament play next Thursday.
Notes: Toledo’s Lia Lucas left the game with a broken nose after catching a vicious incidental elbow late in the third quarter. ... Tornow hit four of Toledo’s five 3-point buckets, and added three assists and four steals. ... Onalaska had 23 turnovers to Toledo’s 18.
