(Avoca) Logan-Magnolia trailed by six at half, but didn’t give in. The Panthers outscored AHSTW 18-2 in the third quarter to take a ten point lead into the 4th and eliminated the Lady Vikes 36-35 in a thrilling regional final played in Harlan on Wednesday.
Seldom used reserve Ava Goldsmith canned a 3-pointer from the right corner as time was winding down on the frame to put an exclamation mark on a dominant eight minute stretch. The Panthers took a 41-31 advantage on Goldsmith’s trifecta and were able to hang on down the stretch.
The win puts the Panthers in the state tournament for the 2nd time in their history. Their only previous trip came in 2017 when the current seniors were freshmen. It was the 2nd win against AHSTW in three meetings this season and was certainly a game in which they had to earn everything they got. #12 Lo-Ma goes to 21-4 on the season. #13 AHSTW is ousted at 20-4 overall.
The game was not played at a rapid pace by any means and AHSTW enjoyed a 7-5 first quarter lead. The Lady Vikes never trailed in the 2nd quarter and build the lead to six points by halftime. Kailey Jones led the strong start with 8 of her 13 points before the break.
Logan-Magnolia found their shooting touch from the outside in the 4th quarter to the tune of four triples. Violet Lapke tied the game at 21 with her only 3-pointer of the night and moments later a long ball from Emilie Thompson put Logan-Magnolia in front 24-21. It was a lead they’d never relinquish. AHSTW managed just one basket in the 3rd quarter. It came from Julia Kock who had one of her better offensive games all season with 11 points including a pair of makes beyond the arc. 
Trailing by ten at the start of the 4th, AHSTW showed some fight to get back into the contest. Logan-Magnolia is 74.5% free-throw shooting team which is #1 in Class 2A, but they Lady Vikes were able to get the ball back often enough without fouling to have a chance at a comeback. Logan-Magnolia finished just 5/7 from the free-throw line, with all of those attempts coming in the 2nd half. Kock and Jones each had five fourth quarter points during AHSTW’s rally attempt while Claire Harris and Kinsey Scheffler each had two.
The Lady Vikes cut the gap to one point on a few different occasions in the 4th, but Logan-Magnolia did enough to preserve the win. AHSTW got the ball back, down one with less than :25 to go and were unable to get a shot attempt off. After a deflected pass, Scheffler attempted to drive inside and had the ball stripped out of bounds. Just one-tenth of a second remained on the clock and the Lady Vikes didn’t get a tip try before the horn.
Kylie Morrison and Emilie Thompson each scored 13 points for Logan-Magnolia. Violet Lapke scored 5, Ava Goldsmith 3, and Courtney Ohl 2. AHSTW had 13 from Kailey Jones, 11 out of Julia Kock, Claire Harris 5, Kinsey Scheffler 4, and Claire Denning 2. Scheffler finished her career with the rare feat of having over 1,000 points, 700 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 steals, and 300 made free-throws.
