An Ipswich vs. Groton Area girls/boys basketball clash of the Tigers on Tuesday, Jan. 21 in Groton produced mixed results. (And they were both one-point outcomes.)
Ipswich indeed escaped with a 41-40 non-conference girls' win over its hosts, but dropped a 55-54 boys' verdict in the nightcap game. And the Groton boys remained undefeated after that narrow come-from behind boys' win.
But getting back to the girls' verdict! Halle Heinz highlighted it with her 1,000th career point and finished with a 19-point evening, concluding with a huge basket that would produce a 41-40 IHS edge after Groton had temporarily grabbed a 40-39 lead. (Seconds before that Ipswich's own Katie Bierman had given her team a 39-38 edge with a basket.)
But with about 20 ticks on the girls' game clock, Ipswich would still need to step up its defense during Groton's last-chance possession and the IHS Lady Tigers did exactly that.
The game was that close. Groton had jumped out to a 11-6 first-quarter edge and still led 22-15 at intermission. But Ipswich responded with a 15-9 third-quarter rally and it was anybody's game in the final quarter again narrowly won by Ipswich 11-9.
Heinz shared game-high scoring honors with Groton's Gracie Traphagen, who also tallied 19 points that featured five treys. (Heinz would add one accurate three-ball in her productive scoring evening.) But no other player for either team managed double-figure scoring that particular evening. Katie Bierman would finish with six points for Ipswich, followed by Hailey Bierman with five points that included a trey. Bailey Pitz added three points, courtesy of Ipswich's remaining trey and Tessa Kilber also netted three points, as did Chesney Olivier. Lindsey Grabowska would add two points to her team's cause.
Ipswich netted 15 accurate floor shots that included the trio of treys and shot 8-12 at the free throw line. (Groton countered with 16 baskets that featured six treys, but was only 2-10 at the free throw line.) Ipswich also utilized 31 rebounds, led by Kilber with eight and Heinz and Pitz with five each. But Ipswich committed 10 turnovers, offset by six steals, led by Heinz with three. Meanwhile, Groton grabbed 28 rebounds, paced by Traphagen with 10 for a double-double. Kaycie Hawkins was next with six retrieves. And Groton only sustained eight total turnovers in a well-played floor game by both schools.
Free throws (or the lack thereof) ultimately proved to loom big in the girls' game with Groton and that would prove to be true to a certain extent in the boys' outcome. That's because the hosts got to the line 26 times and made 18 of their tries, while Ipswich went 14-24 there, a four-point differential in a one-point game. Ipswich would also finish with 18 accurate floor shots which included four treys and the GHS Tigers countered with 17 floor shots including a trio of treys.
Ipswich had trailed 15-13 after a quarter and then faced a 34-29 halftime shortfall. But the IHS Tigers clawed back into the game and then some with a 13-5 third-quarter scoring advantage. That put Ipswich ahead 42-39 with a quarter to play and its biggest second-half lead would improve to two possessions, 52-47, after a pair of free throws by Ethan Gilbert and a Maxwell Geditz layup. But Groton outscored Ipswich 8-2 down the stretch, capped by a free throw with three seconds on the clock for that razor-thin one-point lead.
Ipswich barely had enough time for a last-possession miracle, which didn't materialize, allowing the hosts to escape unscathed at that point in time.
Ipswich's Will Kadlec led all scorers with 25 points and featured a trio of treys. Next was Ty Kadlec with 11 points, including his team's remaining three-ball. Maxwell Geditz would finish with six points and Josh McQuarie with five points. You may also credit Gilbert with a total of three points and Taylor Thorson and Eric Severson with a basket apiece.
Groton's Brodyn DeHoet led his team with 24 points and 14 rebounds for a double-double, followed by Cade Guthmiller with 11 points that featured all three of his team's treys. Kaden Kurtz also climbed the double-figure scoring plateau with 10 points, while three other GHS Tigers scored.
Despite DeHoet's rebounding prowess, Ipswich still edged Groton on the boards 28-26, paced by McQuarie with five rebounds. And Ipswich sustained only nine turnovers, another bright spot, while the hosts had 11. (Ten of those were created by IHS Tiger steals, led by Ty Kadlec and McQuarie with three each.)
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