West Liberty-Salem 7th Grade Girls Basketball — OHC Tournament
The West Liberty-Salem 7th grade girls basketball team opened OHC Tournament play with a strong home victory Monday night, defeating Madison Plains 33–18 in the first round.
The win improves the Tigers’ record to 10–3 on the season. West Liberty-Salem controlled the game defensively and pulled away with balanced scoring led by Zoey Richardson, who poured in a game-high 20 points. Izzy Jones added 9 points, while Chloe Staten scored 3 and Ava Prater chipped in 1.
West Liberty-Salem will advance to the second round of the OHC Tournament and travel to Mechanicsburg on Wednesday, February 4, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Bellefontaine Middle School Girls Basketball — CBC Tournament
8th Grade — Benjamin Logan 33, Bellefontaine 10
The Bellefontaine 8th-grade Lady Chiefs saw their season come to an end Monday night with a loss to top-seeded Benjamin Logan in the CBC Tournament.
Bellefontaine battled the No. 1 seed to a tight, defensive first half, trailing just 8–4 at halftime. Benjamin Logan pulled away in the third quarter as the Chiefs were unable to match the scoring after the break.
Despite the final score, Bellefontaine showed toughness and heart, gaining valuable experience against top competition.
Bellefontaine Scoring:
Annie Gallaway – 4
Kennedy Hairston – 3
Alexis Hogan – 2
Zyannia Bean-Breaston – 1
7th Grade — Bellefontaine 23, Tecumseh 14
The 7th-grade Lady Chiefs opened tournament play with a 23–14 win over Tecumseh, feeding off the energy of the “Jock Block” crowd from start to finish.
Scoring for Bellefontaine:
Alivia Rogan – 8
Leah Harvey – 4
Braelynn Neer – 4
Mia Regula – 3
Charley Frazier – 2
Myra Varner – 2
The Lady Chiefs return to action Thursday at Jonathan Alder.
Indian Lake Middle School Boys
8th Grade — Indian Lake 44, Northwestern 17
The Indian Lake 8th-grade boys picked up a convincing 44–17 win over Northwestern. With the victory, the Lakers improved to 11–4 on the season.
Colt Volbrecht led all scorers with 13 points. Miller Hall added 12, Mason Berg scored 11, Fletcher Brown had 3, Brady Jackson and Ross Tidwell each added 2, and Kaiden Lacher finished the scoring with 1.
Indian Lake closes the regular season Tuesday at home against Benjamin Logan.
7th Grade — Indian Lake 27, Northwestern 25
The 7th-grade Lakers held on for a thrilling 27–25 win at Northwestern. Indian Lake led by seven at halftime, but turnovers allowed Northwestern to regain the lead in the fourth quarter.
Strong defensive possessions and a late-game out-of-bounds play helped the Lakers secure the victory.
Indian Lake Scoring:
Ross Tidwell – 14
Logan Kuhlke – 7
Calin Headings – 3
Hudson Titus – 2
JT Book – 1
West Liberty-Salem Middle School Boys Basketball
8th Grade — WL-S 32, West Jefferson 26
West Liberty-Salem’s 8th-grade boys earned a 32–26 win over West Jefferson, improving to 11–3 on the season.
Foster King led the Tigers with 13 points, followed by Mack Heminger with 6 and Liam Harrington with 5. Additional scoring came from Calen Fairchild, Elijah Lyburtus, Mason Wallace, Kase McIntosh, and Jacob Bahan.
The Tigers will play at home Thursday against Mechanicsburg following the 8th-grade girls tournament game, with tipoff scheduled for approximately 6:30 p.m.
7th Grade — WL-S 35, West Jefferson 27 (OT)
The West Liberty-Salem 7th-grade boys needed overtime to secure a 35–27 win over West Jefferson at home.
Greyson Leichty led the Tigers with 14 points and 2 rebounds. Nathan Deitrick added 9 points and 4 rebounds, while Miles Wright chipped in 8 points and 5 rebounds.
Riverside Middle School Boys
The Pirates earned a sweep in middle school action.
The 7th-grade boys won 42–33, led by Jaxen Orsborne with 16 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Charlie Varian added 10 points and 8 rebounds, while Byron Carman and Jake Foreman each scored 6.
The 8th-grade boys followed with a 47–22 win. Maddox Burchett led the way with 21 points, Brayden Harshbarger added 11, and Lukas Olinger chipped in 10.
Both Pirate teams will travel to Covington on Thursday for another league matchup.
