Last week was the Allen County Athletic Conference for both girls and boys. The first round picks were Garrett verses Southern Wells, South Adams verses Bluffton, Leo verses Woodland, and Adam Central verses Heritage.

Our Garrett teams traveled to Southern Wells for the first round of tournament play. Both games were close and exciting, but unfortunately only the girls came out on top.

After a slow start with a 6-4 lead after the first quarter, the Lady Railroaders picked it up and came out on top with a 47-24 victory over the Lady Raiders. Garrett did not shoot the ball well and their defense is what won the game for them.

Madison Diederich led the team with 12 points, six rebounds, and one steal. Both Katie Carunchia and Jessica Walker had seven points and seven rebounds. Other scorers were Courtney Wisel with six, Molly Getts and Lauren Marshall with five, Stacy Thrush with three, and Kelsi Smurr with two.

The boy’s game was a dog fight all the way until the end. The lead changed many times, but Southern Wells hit the bigger shots throughout the entire game and pulled away with a 71-63 win. Southern Wells was 10-of-17 from three-point land while the G-Men were 6-of-17.

Tim Kidder and Orie Foster led Garrett with 14 points each and Keith Hahn was right behind with 13. Other scorers were Logan Rowe with six, Luke Cooper and Tony Lewis with five, Shane Branscum with four, and Chad Wood with two. The Heritage Patriots ended up winning the boys ACAC title Saturday at the Coliseum by declawing the Bluffton Tigers 36-31.

“We played a pretty tough game, but did not play well,” said senior captain Tony Lewis. “Next time we play them, it will be a different outcome.”

Lewis also said they were physical and did not match the level of intensity. His goals for the rest of the season are to win the rest of conference games and win sectionals.

“We will work hard in practice and be a team to achieve these goals,” said Lewis.

The Lady Railroaders pulled through another game and moved on to the championship game by defeating the Lady Tigers 50-41. The game was close the entire 32 minutes of play, but Garrett kept their composure.

Carunchia led with 13 points and eight rebounds. Diederich and Walker both had eight points and four rebounds. Other scorers were Thrush and Getts with six, Wisel four, Yarde three, and Marshall two.

Garrett had early lead in fourth quarter, but lost composure and lost a close battle 46-40 to the Heritage Patriots Saturday morning at the Coliseum. The game was tied at halftime, 21-21, but the Lady Railroaders came out strong and started playing like they knew how to play, but Heritage was not willing to give up just yet.

The Lady Patriots made a 15-1 run at the end of the fourth quarter and Garrett could not hit shots to come back. Garrett had three girls in double digits: Carunchia 16, Walker 10, and Wisel 10. Other scorers were Thrush with three and Getts with one.

“We did not execute enough and that is why we lost,” said senior captain Katie Carunchia. “We fell apart in the last four minutes of the game. Next time we play them, we will execute all of the time and our defense will come out ready to play.”

Carunchia’s goals for the rest of the season are to win. She plans on achieving this by working hard and as a team. Other senior captain Jessica Walker learned that no matter how much you are up by in points, you have to stay focused.

“We played hard, but did not block out and make free-throws. We quit attacking the basket too,” said Walker. Walker’s goals for the rest of the season are to win regular season conference title and go as far as possible in the state tournament.

“We worked hard and played with the attitude to not lose instead of playing to win,” sophomore guard Madison Diederich. “Once we were up by nine, we stopped trying to score and missed bunnies all game.”

Diederich learned to believe you are going to win and making lay-ups and free-throws are important. Her goals for the rest of the season are to keep winning, beat Heritage for conference title, and win sectionals. She plans to achieve this by having confidence, working hard in practice, and listening to the coaches.

Heritage now has won three straight ACAC titles and has a 14 game winning streak. Garrett has only been in the ACAC conference for two years, but had not lost to the Patriots since 1998. Garrett will host Heritage January 27.