Willard routs Clear Fork in district rematch

KANSAS — The Willard girls basketball team found redemption in a big way Tuesday night. Just over a year removed from a 61-34 loss to Clear Fork in a Division V district championship game, the two teams met again, this time in a district semifinal at Lakota High School. After Clear Fork scored three of the first four baskets for a 6-2 lead, it was all Willard. The Flashes dominated the Colts in a 68-45 win to again return to a district title game. This time, the MaxPreps No. 7-ranked Crimson Flashes (20-4) will face No. 14 Delta (20-4) at 3 p.m. Saturday back at Lakota with a regional appearance in Mansfield next week on the line. Once the Flashes had tied the game at 6-6 on a steal and layup from LaMya Hicks, teammate Corrin Gettys followed with another easy basket for an 8-6 lead at the 3:23 mark of the first quarter. Willard never trailed again, as it closed the quarter on a 12-0 scoring run. Reese Bedingfield made a pair of free throws, and Camryn Wiers capped things with a 3-pointer with 35.6 seconds left as the Flashes took a 14-6 lead. Gettys pushed the lead to 22-9 with two straight scores, one on a basket and the second time on two free throws at the 5:26 mark of the second. Bedingfield made a 3 to extend the lead to 27-10, and the Flashes still didn't let up. Daelynn Funk made a 3 to extend the lead to 32-12 with 2:42 left in the half. Gettys closed the quarter with two free throws with 21 seconds left as Willard led 36-16 at halftime. Looking for momentum, Clear Fork (19-5) opened the second half with a 3. Immediately at the other end, Willard's Emelia Tallman erased it with a 3 of her own to make it 39-19 at the 7:12 mark. It was the fourth 3 of the game by four different players for the Flashes. Leah Weiss rebounded a miss and put the ball in for a 43-21 lead a minute later, and Gettys continued to score as her two free throws pushed the lead out to 30 points at 51-21 with 2:12 left in the third. In total, Willard got multiple baskets from seven different players in the win. Gettys scored 20 points, followed closely by Bedingfield with 17. Hicks had seven points, while Wiers and Weiss each added six points. Both Tallman and Funk had five points each. The Flashes also held a 44-29 edge in rebounds and made 15 of 20 free throws in the victory. Willard made back-to-back regional appearances in 2020 and 2021. Delta, which plays in the Northwest Ohio Athletic League, is led by sophomore guard Anna Lohman (15 points per game) and senior Keagyn Gillen (8.9 points, 5.7 rebounds).