âWe knew what we were getting into, and thatâs why we wanted to play them,â Tecumseh coach Danielle Thomas said. âWe wanted to test ourselves and being a young team. We are better than what we showed, but theyâre going to make you do things you donât normally do because theyâre so good.â
Alter (12-2) is led by two Division-I bound players in seniors Braxtin Miller (Oklahoma State) and Libby Bazelak (Duquesne). Tecumseh (12-2) beat Kenton Ridge by six points in a conference game Saturday night, and Thomas said her team wasnât fully rested on Monday.
âThat was a big game on Saturday and just physically took a lot out of us,â Thomas said. â⌠I know (Alter) played a game too, but theyâre older and their bodies are more muscular than our young kids. They can take back-to-back games better than we can.â
After taking a 12-6 lead, Alter went on a 12-4 run over the last three minutes of the first quarter to take a 14-point lead. Tecumseh narrowed the gap down to as low as nine points in the second, but Alter finished strong in the last minute. Braxtin Miller hit a foul shot after a layup with three seconds left to help the Knights take a 39-26 lead by halftime.
The Knights led by as many as 24 points in the second half, but Tecumseh narrowed the final score late in the fourth, in part thanks to six points in the final 20 seconds.
Thomas said that Mondayâs loss doesnât derail any of the teamâs goals for the season. Saturdayâs win over Kenton Ridge put the team at 7-0 in the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division.
âWeâre in a great place for a team thatâs full of young girls,â Thomas said. âI think everybody had counted us out.â
Alter has won the last two D-II state titles, and co-head coach Kendal Peck said the team likes playing strong teams in nonconference play to prepare for the tournament.
âThatâs the challenge of our schedule,â Peck said. âYouâve got to recharge the batteries fast and get up for the next game. We didnât have a lot of prep time, and weâre extremely pleased to come up here and have such a good performance.â
Miller led Alter with 22 points, while Bazelak added 14. Corinne Thomas led Tecumseh with 18, while Presley Griffitts scored 17.
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