SHARONVILLE — Gracie Cosgrove took a fast break to the hoop midway through the third quarter Tuesday night.
The Badin High School senior guard didn’t think much of it because she had other things on her mind.
Winning.
Cosgrove became the Rams’ all-time leading scorer with the bucket, and second-seeded Badin went on to beat No. 10 Monroe 56-39 in a Division III district semifinal at Princeton.
“I mean, yeah, I am proud of myself,” said Cosgrove, who passed 2019 graduate Emma Broermann (1,291) and now has 1,301 career points.
“But I can’t do it all by myself. I need my teammates and my coaches. It’s cool, but whatever — move on with the tournament.”
Cosgrove finished with a game-high 22 points, Braelyn Even had 21 and Ashley Pate added 11. Those three accounted for all of Badin’s points except for two from Maddie Snow.
The Rams (18-6) have won seven of their last eight and will face the Bellbrook-Tippecanoe winner on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Princeton in a district final.
Badin is seeking to reach a fifth-straight regional final. The Rams advanced to the Division II regional title game each of the previous four seasons and recorded a third consecutive 20-win season last year.
Badin uncharacteristically fired just 4 of 24 (16%) from beyond the arc on Tuesday, which allowed Monroe to keep things competitive in the first half.
“Tonight definitely wasn’t our best performance, but we’re where we should be right now,” Cosgrove said. “It was a good win for us. We were down in the first quarter and came back up and didn’t lose our focus.
“Obviously, our shots weren’t falling at the beginning. Braelyn’s layups weren’t even going in. But me and Braelyn were on the court, we were like, ‘This isn’t going to happen all game. They aren’t going to shoot this well all game. We weren’t going to miss every shot we take all game.’ We knew eventually that we’d come back and find our groove.”
Monroe led 12-8 after the first quarter, but Badin used a 13-3 second period to grab the advantage and a 21-15 lead at the half.
“I thought it was going to be one of two things,” Rams coach Tom Sunderman said. “If they can slow the game down, they could make it competitive. They are a young team that’s getting better and trying to find their identity.
“We didn’t make shots. We struggled a little bit on our defense end. They jumped on us 12-8, and once we got to be the aggressor on defense starting the second quarter, I thought we controlled the tempo of the game a little bit more.”
Emma Adolph scored a team-high 15 points for Monroe, which finished the season at 10-14. The Hornets return all their players for next season.
“I told our girls that they were going to give their punches at us,” Hornets coach Justin Clemmons said. “I felt like our girls executed our gameplan really well. We did the things we needed to do to put ourselves in position, and in the fourth, it kind of got away from us.
“I’m proud of them as a group. I told the girls in the locker room that we played a really bad game on Dec. 21, and since that point, they were a completely different basketball team. So, I’m looking forward to getting started back up as soon as we can.”
Other area girls basketball tournament results:
WESTERN BROWN 49, TALAWANDA 48
Janna Cary scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Talawanda’s season-ending loss to Western Brown on Tuesday night at Princeton.
The Brave led 36-30 heading into the fourth quarter before the Broncos made a comeback down the stretch.
“Tonight didn’t end the way we wanted, but I think we are on that upward trajectory,” said Talawanda coach Zach Stapleton, who finished his first season at the helm. “I like where the program is going. I think you expect to win a game like this, but that’s a really competitive team. The way that our girls fought, I can’t say that I’m disappointed one bit.
“I’m happy with the team. I’m happy with the progression. Just looking forward to getting back in there next year. We’re just a young program. Every minute that the young kids can play right now is extremely valuable — especially in these moments. We’ve got some young players coming in next year that are extremely talented. So, you’re just looking forward to building on that. It’s a good experience for all of us.”
Sadie Van Gorden had 12 points and Layni Short added 10 for the Brave, who finished the season 11-13. Talawanda graduates Short and Olivia Naiman
LAKOTA EAST 38, WEST CLERMONT 25
Brooke Asher scored a game-high 13 points and the Thunderhawks beat the Wolves to advance in Division I tournament play.
Lakota East (14-9) snapped a three-game losing streak and will face Walnut Hills at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Fairfield.
LAKOTA WEST 40, LEBANON 35
The Firebirds (14-9) have won three of their last four and will face Fairmont at 11 a.m. Saturday at Mason.
The Warriors finish the season 11-12 and graduate seniors Jordan Mueller, Ellie Horst, Alexa Nisonger and Braylyn Mattox.
ALTER 49, MADISON 19
The Knights led 35-6 at the halftime break and never wavered. The Mohawks finish the season 11-13 and graduate seniors Malerie Bobbitt and Aubrey Felty.
MOUNT NOTRE DAME 65, HAMILTON 20
The Big Blue finish the season at 6-17. Hamilton graduates seniors O’Marionya Kirkland, Ah’Marionya Kirkland, Londaya Roberts, Shamekia Ash and Asieyha Litman.
